Hunted by Death
by Ziriuel
Summary: A spirit of death has come to the bathhouse in search of Chihiro. She's warned to not go back, but she has to know why she's being hunted down. -Rated T for possible future reasons- Complete
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Years had passed since anything interesting had occured in the bath house, Yubaba had become ever richer, even with the loss of Haku as her apprentice. She being the witch she was always decided there was another fool who would search for power, long for the knowledge she could give them. Yubaba leaned over the railing watching her baby boy, not so much a baby anymore directing spirits though the bathhouse assisting his mother. The witch had great plans for her son when he grew old enough to run the bath house himself.

She lit one of her cigerettes and inhaled deeply, "Just as I like it calm and with great income." she said with a smoke filled sigh. Yubaba headed for her rooms, the day would soon come and she would be on her way while the bath house slept and the spirits guarded their homes.

A chilling breeze slipped through the heat and seam of the bath house, many froze at sensing this sudden presence. Several guests scurried away, leaving before they had even bathed. The hairs on the back of Yubaba's neck stood on end. Slowly the mistress of the bath house turned, standing in the doorway was a black cloaked form.

The whispers crawled through those who remained, though none stood in the figures way. It's face was covered in a deep blackness, its body wrapped in shadows. "Death spirit."

The spirit walked past them and went for the stairs, Yubaba's child sheilded away from this one as well, a coldness, and numbness followed this one. Spirits began pouring from the bath house, fearing they were the one it had come for. Yubaba studdered and stumbled over her words as it approached her, "Welcome most honored guest, what may I ask brings someone of such, high asteam to my bathhouse?" It was common knowledge that Death Spirits, while a common occurance in the spirit world, for every one died at some time or another, did not frequent places where spirits grouped together, most death spirits were both loners and killers of only humans. Spirits were already dead, but should there be a need for it, older spirits were some times removed so younger spirits could take their place.

The spirit slowly pulled down its hood, behind the shadows was half a young women's face, deep black eyes and ebony hair, skin bleached to near transparency, the other half of the creature's face was a skull, covered in black tattooed magic symbols. Her eye stared unblinkingly at Yubaba, "I search for the one called, Chihiro."

* * *

Light flickered and danced off the purple band in her brown hair. Her dark eyes flicking across the words on the page, she wasn't getting any of the information off the page. Chihiro's mind was elsewhere. She slid the book down and continued the sketch of a long empirial dragon, faded in the sky behind it was a firmilar form, she wondered if Kohaku still looked the same or if he, like humans aged. Chihiro shook herself mentally, no, he was a river spirit; and his river was gone, he'd be the same for the rest of eternity. While she was now in high school, five years ago she'd taken a most amazing adventure, witnessed things no one would have believed her if she had even spoken it.

She'd kept the story to herself, but she'd written it down, everything, Kimagi, Rin, Yubaba, Zaniba, Kuhaku, everyone, and everything she could remember; and she missed them all dearly. She reached up and touched the purple band her friends had made for her again for the thousandth time since she'd returned to the human world, they were still with her in her heart, and in her memories. Her dreams were filled with them, it made her heart ache to see them once more, she would give anything to see them all again.

"Chihiro!"

She shot up out of her chair, "Yes sir?" The rest of the class laughed, clearly the teacher called her name multiple times and had just caught her attention.

He sighed and shook his head, "Out in the hall please, I'd like a word with you."

The young women bit her lip and returned her things into her bag and desk then walked out of the classroom, closing the door behind her. The class continued without her, this had gone one many times before it didn't bother her, her parents on the other hand were starting to get sick of the letters coming home, and the teacher meetings. Chihiro rested with her back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, her face slowly spred into a smile as she thought about the rich river spirit.

_Sen..._

A gentle wind came from down the hall. Blinking the girl began to walk after the wind, none of the windows down this hall opened where would a breeze be coming from? Again the wind brushed against her face and made her school uniform tremor. Glancing over her shoulder at the classroom door she proceeded down the hall.

There was a flicker of what looked like firelight from within a classroom that she knew was abandoned. Curiously she pulled the door open.

The door didn't contain a classroom, the flicker was of candles that circled the round room. In the center of the room was a figure cloaked in white sitting before a brass basin, the head rose to look in her direction, "We don't have much time Chihiro, I have come to warn you."

Chihiro left the door open and sat in front of this form, "Who are you?"

"Who I am is of little importance, what is is that you are being hunted by a death spirit. You must avoid death when ever it is possible." The spirit waved a hand over the brass basin, the water within trembled and darkened then revealed the half faced- half skulled spirit. "This one will not stop until her quarry has been found; stay away from graveyards, hospitals, anywhere where death is frequent. She will have spies and other creatures searching for you." The water trembled again, within it she could see the bath house, night had fallen, yet no smoke rose from the smoke stacks. The windows were dark, "She has followed your trail to this place, here she is waiting for you."

Chihiro gasped, "I have to help them!" She moved to stand, but the spirit's hands shot out and took hold of her arms, "Let me go, those are my friends!"

"You cannot reach this place as you did before," it stated, "The way was shut behind you, for you at least."

She bit her lip, "How can I get there then?"

The form's head rose suddenly, "We are being watched, you must go." He waited for a moment before repeating, "She is there now, she is waiting for you. For now, were I you Chihiro I would remain where you are."

Her vision wavered and she was standing in an empty room. Chihiro bit her lip and walked back to her classroom and waited for her teacher, new thoughts running though her mind. She blinked and looked back toward the open classroom door, "Kuhaku? Was that you?" She had to wonder, but she hadn't felt the same around this white cloaked person as she'd once felt around Haku, it couldn't of been him.

A moment later her teacher came out to speak with Chihiro about her behavior in class. She nodded at the appropriate moments and apologised to the teacher while promising to try and do better. Her mind was elswhere though, she had to find a way to go help those at the bath house.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Pencil tapping against her desk she gazed out her window, she couldn't think about school at at time like this! She closed her text book and pulled out the sketch she'd started of the doorway that she'd gone through the first time. _The way was shut behind you, for you at least._What could the spirit have meant by for her? Had others come and gone in the time she'd been here? Well it was a gate for the spirits --she assumed-- they came and went often.

"I can't just sit here..." she whispered to herself.

"Chihiro, dinner!" Her mother called up the stairs. She gave it a moments thought to not go. She sighed and headed down the stairs, suddenly she paused and went back up to her room. She'd remembered the train. It only went in one direction, but if it had other places that it went to then wouldn't there be other openings between the spirit world and this one? She started pulling out all of her drawings, her mother called for her again.

"I'm not hungry mom!" She called back down to her parents, it was a lie, she'd be down there the few hours after her parents had gone to bed. She bit her lip as she went though her drawings. The new ones she piled together. She grabbed out a box from under her bed and cut the twine that had been keeping it closed. "Please be in here..." She started digging through the box and separating the places, the people, and the few objects that she'd drawn when they'd finally gotten to their home when she'd first left with her parents. They were childish drawings stick figures with names under them, rough shapes in colored pencils.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair and shuffled through more of the pages, there was a knock on the door, Chihiro quickly started putting pictures back in the box and put them on her desk. She grabbed a book and jumped on her bed, "Come in." She started reading the text book. Her mother opened the door, a bowl in one hands and picked up a plate with a drink and a few other tidbits on it. "Sweetie you should really get your head out of the clouds." She looked around at the few scattered pictures her daughter hadn't managed to hide. "You're obsessed with this story of yours." She shook her head and sat down next to her. "Chihiro, it was a dream, we didn't go anywhere."

"I'm not obsessed..." She said looking over the top of her book. Her mother smiled and took the book from her daughter's hand and turned it right side up and returned it closed to Chihiro's hands, she rolled her eyes. "It may be a dream to you, but it's real to me mom." She sat up straighter, "I know you don't understand, but I'm alright, honest." She put the book down, "Mom, do you remember what that little statue that dad nearly ran into looked like?" She slid to put her feet under her while her mother put the food on her desk and returned to her side.

"I don't remember sweetie. It was short and chubby, it looked a little like a... human frog?" She patted her daughter on the head and smiled, "Be sure to eat, and get to bed at a decent hour Chihiro." Chihiro smiled and thanked her mom. At that her mother left her daughter to her work. The moment the door was closed she opened the box again and started shuffling though the child done drawings.

* * *

The food sat cold and untouched on her desk while Chihiro lay curled up on her bed, papers scattered around the room and even on the bed. A breeze flickered through the room, tugging at the girl's brown hair. She tried to brush it away, it tugged harder. Scowling Chihiro sat up and looked around.

_Sen...?_ The breeze whispered in her ear. _Concentrate._

She got up off her bed and looked around the room confused. "Who are you?" She shook her head, wrong question. "What are you?"

_Sent by Kimaji, by way of Shaman. _It whispered, the breeze curling around her shoulders. _Must concentrate to see a spirit in human world._

Her heart lept up into her throat, could it be possible, or was this just a trick by the death spirit? She frowned, "How do I know this isn't a trick?" The breeze sighed exasperatedly and flicked around the room, loose papers ruffled around the place. The spirit's trail vanished for a moment then blew a mighty gust out from under the bed, a single sheet of paper floated out. Chihiro took hold of the page, it was of Swamp Bottom, and the one-handed lantern, drawn poorly with a red pencil.

_The back of it! _The wind snapped, near her ear. Chihiro quickly turned it over, there were drawing of the small shrines and the round-headed, wide smiling mouth statue stared at her from the page, she blinked. _You looking for this._

"No, I'm looking for another way to the bathhouse." The young women stated, "I have to protect my friends."

_Kimaji says, to stay away, Shaman says to find a way._The wind stated. Chihiro watched the after effects of the wind, slowly as she watched closer it began to take form. It was smoky streams at first then it came to rest on her desk looking at the uneaten food. _It no good to not eat._ It looked over at her, _Sen needs her strength if she's looking for more paths. _It had beady black eyes with no depth to them, a grey and smokiness to its form. Yet it was beautiful, it's looked like a small bird with four wings instead of two, a short beak and a split tail that didn't seem to end. The smoke had a way of shifting through many colors and yet held a grey color.

"What are you?"

_Wind spirit, called Sylph. _It's beak didn't move as the words came from it. _Here to watch Sen, protect. _It flitted back across the room, a few pages fluttering, _Help if I can. _It landed on her shoulder and chirred softly. _First food, then sleep, then we find a guardian._

Chihiro wasn't about to question Sylph about what a guardian was at that moment, or who and what a shaman was. For now she'd follow the wind spirit's advice, she took her cold food down stairs and put them in the sink before going for the cupboards for something she could make without waking her parents; which severely limited her options.

* * *

Yubaba hadn't had any option to take the death spirit in and give her some of the best treatment and rooms they had. She wasn't getting paid for it either, she hated these death spirits, but going against them was instant death, or so the rumors said. The witch wasn't going to be the one to find out if the rumors were true. There was a knock of a door, "What?" She said rougher than she intended, thinking on that death spirit made her blood boil.

The door opened and her son walked into the room, "Mama, she's down in the bath house," He wasn't as big as he'd once been, slowly he was becoming closer to a normal size, black hair covered his head, it was just long enough to brush across his ears. "The death spirit's scaring away all our customers. She's in one of the baths."

Yubaba sighed and ran her hands over her face, "Sweetie, I know what's going on isn't best for us. But we don't have a choice for the moment, until it gets what it wants its staying here." She ground her teeth together, "This is all Sen's fault, I knew that little human was going to be trouble."

"You wouldn't give Sen over to that thing would you mama? Sen's my friend." He stated stubbornly, he'd yet to back down that the human was his friend and he would protect her with his life if he must. Of course, like all others who thought of themselves as Chihiro's friend hadn't stated this around the death spirit. His mother sighed exasperatedly.

Down below resting in one of the large pools her eyes gazing unblinkingly at the floor boards, all of her spies had returned. The only word of their target was she was sensed for a moment along with a human with a great amount of spirit power, it had cloaked its and Chihiro's presence nearly completely. Out of pure luck had the spy tasted what it's master had been looking for. She slowly closed her one eye. The water refreshed her skin, the sinewand flesh began to wrap around the bones of her right side and restore the death spirit to a more tasteful appearance. The attendant watching over her shuddered at the sight of the spirit's body being rejuvenated.

There was no hurry, the prize would become hers one way or another.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kimaji stretched his four arms and banged the mallet on the metal gear, "Alright soot balls, its late we're getting an early start tomorrow though and you know it." There was a chorus of angry squeeks and other sounds from them. "I'll be hearing no arguments from any of you! Now beat it!" The enchanted soot darted away into the holes where they had originated from. Kimaji picked up his teapot of sake and took a long drink from it.

The door clicked open, the boiler man looked to the door, "Stupid death spirit's wandering everywhere in the bath house." Rin climbed in and walked toward Kimaji, who held out his empty plate for her. Rin frowned but took it from him none the less, "Has it been down here yet?"

"Yep. It didn't say a word, only watched with those black eyes." He took another long drink and returned the pot to its previous position, "Had to enchant a whole new batch of soot," he shook his head and scratched it, "strange effect death spirits have on magic wouldn't you say?"

"Yubaba's on edge about all of this, and of course that means more work for all of us." Rin said with distain then shook her head. "What would it do if Sen was still here do ya think?"

Kimaji shook his head, "Sen is in grave danger, I should hope she'd stay away from the bath house." He yawned, "It's late Rin, I suggest sleep to clear the mind." The servant girl rolled her eyes and said her farewell to the boiler man before heading back into the bath house. He wondered if his message had gotten to the shaman, Sen would be safe as long as she remained outside of the spirit realm, within its range the death spirit could find anything.

* * *

Chihiro's eyes slowly opened at the sound of fluttering wings. She watched calmly as the Sylph flitted across her ceiling giving off small breezes and making next to no noise. Chihiro had to wonder if she was still dreaming, all that had happened yesterday was a kind of blur with her strange dream of tap dancing frogs and a long river. She stretched and watched the wind spirit dart around the room sending up small almost tornadoes, papers scurried across her desk into a pile.

"You don't need to do that," Chihiro got up and started cleaning up the mess of a room. "I left it there, I'll clean it."

_Sylph just helping._ The avian stated, and came to perch on her shoulder. _Where we go today?_

Chihiro sighed, "I've got school again today, so after that we'll have to start our search." The bird nodded in understanding and flitted about the room a final time fluttering pages, "You can't do that while we're at school, it'll make all kinds of trouble for me."

Sylph landed on the back of Chihiro's desk chair, _Sylph can behave itself, but Sen musn't get into any trouble today. _It waited patiently while Chihiro changed into her uniform and grabbed her backpack then went onto her shoulder while she ran a brush through her hair and braided it back. She tied it with the hair band that had come with her from the Swamp Bottom. With that she and the spirit went down stairs where she skipped breakfast and headed out to the bus stop.

It didn't take long for the Sylph to begin telling her they should go in search of a guardian. "What's a guardian?" Chihiro asked.

The Sylph sighed and flitted in place before her, _Guardians protect entrances, keep out unwanted spirits, dark ones._

The bus came as she pondered what the wind spirit had said, "But then how did the death spirit get there?" She climbed on the bus and took a seat a short distance from the back.

_Death spirit come by way of Shadow Grove. Where death spirit's flourish and where they rest when not hunting._ Sylph landed on the back of the seat in front of her. _Shadow Grove place where spirits dare not tarry._

Chihiro hadn't been in the spirit world long, but she'd never heard of any place called Shadow Grove, maybe it was beyond Swamp Bottom. She would have asked the little spirit except it seemed to shudder when it spoke of the place, it was a place of danger she took it; _Note to self, avoid Shadow Grove._ With that they they rode in silence until they reached the school building.

* * *

The bell rang and everyone hurried to their classroom Chihiro forced herself to move slowly, she needed to ask the Sylph something. As the last person left the room she spoke to the wind spirit again, "How many guardians are there exactly?"

_At least eight, four directions, four elements. _The sylph landed on her shoulder, _You came by way of earth last time. Not advisable to go through air gate, long fall, long drop too._ The Spirit paused in thought, _Directions would be best for you this time. Guardians not fond of humans, but, you know Kuhaku yes, dragon gate best then._

"Wait what does Haku have to do with this?" She finished changing into her school shoes and ran down the hall toward her class room.

_East gate, Dragon gate, Seiryū is guardian. _The spirit stated, flitting from one side to the other. _Great dragon, great gate. Deep in woods where rain falls often. Must go when he is sleeping, Kuhaku may be a friend but Seriyu is no friend of humans. _The wind spirit landed on her shoulder as she reached the closed door of her classroom.

There was a sigh from the teacher, "Wait until I call for you Chihiro."

"Yes mam." She replied to the homeroom teacher, then quietly spoke to the spirit, "When does he sleep? And you still didn't explain what it had to do with Haku." She glanced at the door to the room where the boy in white had appeared, noises came from within, the student busy with their work.

Sylph preened its feathers then replied, _Kuhaku dragon, Seiryu dragon. Family, also Sen help river spirit._ The wind spirit paused in thought. _Perhaps gate not too hard to cross. Spirits beyond will know of Sen perhaps..._The spirit fluttered away down the halls. _Sylph will return shortly._ At that the spirit vanished out the nearest window.

Chihiro sighed and sunk to the floor, all of this was happening so suddenly. Why now? Why was something looking for her in the spirit world if she wasn't there anymore, it had been years since she'd been there. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin there, "Its all so confusing Haku."

"I shouldn't think so, I understand it."

She raised her head to look up at her teacher, she smiled coyly. "Sorry mam," she got to her feet, "I was talking to myself."

Her teacher sighed, "Chihiro, I think we're going to have to set up a meeting between your parents and the principal, again." Chihiro grimaced, internally she wondered if she could find the east gate before the meeting took place. Her parents would worry for her, but not so much about her.

With that she was allowed back into the classroom as the bell rang. The teacher left and the talking began until the next teacher arrived. Chihiro watched for Sylph to return, they could go to the liberary after school and look for where the gates could possibly be located.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A figure wrapped in a white robe walked through the streets outside of the bathhouse unnoticed. The spirits had long gone to their rest, he wandered with no real direction. He paused on the bridge and looked up at the building, there was one form walking along a balcony, like it didn't need sleep. It looked directly at the white form, the death spirit didn't react, the figure smirked, not even the death spirit could see him. Perhaps it would be worth it to scout out the place before Chihiro tried to get here. Yet he turned away and walked in another direction, pulling out a book of train tickets as he went, while unseen perhaps he could go to the gates.

No matter his warning the human was stubborn and loyal to her friends, he smiled slightly wondering if she'd ever think of him in such a way. While he knew which gates she wouldn't be taking of the ones that Chihiro could take he didn't know which one it would be. He sighed and stretched, it would be better to start somewhere than to sit around and wonder. He vanished, like an eraser had been drawn across his body from his feet to his head. The opposite occurreddown at the train station, one section at a time he was redrawn into place. He pulled down the white hood, disspelling the invisibility for the time being. Pure white hair cut to a short length and untamed sticking up in some places and laying flat in others the form waited for the train.

"Are you going to try and stay invisible the entire time?" He asked to no one.

_"It's my prerogative to be anything I want, your master and mine gave us this mission."_ A second form this one a gray almost shapeless form, not willing to fully reveal itself replied. "_The train comes."_

"I'd rather not have to explain to the train master why I'm "hiding" a spirit," He said looking over his shoulder at the mass, "Could you be a little more, I don't know, solid for a while?" The spirit sighed and became a young black fox with a red scarf around his neck, "Secondly, my master is different than yours, you report others of your kind or a god. I am master to myself." He replied with pride.

_"Arrogance will get you killed shaman."_

He chuckled, "Arrogance is all I have Blink." The train's breaks shreeked as it came to a stop before the station, he climbed abored and gave the ticket master two of the tickets, "Come on, first place first, maybe Inari will be in a good mood when he gets a report from you this time."

Blink shuddered and jumped onto one of the seats, "_Inari only seeks knowledge, give it something he already knows and it's not happy." _The fox looked at his compainion curiously as the shaman sat beside him, "_Why do you mention my master? We are not to see him soon are we?"_

The young man shook his head and reclined back slightly, "No, Byakko'll be expecting us soon."

The fox shuddered, "_I hate that tiger."_

He laughed and turned to look out the window, there were a few others dark shapes on the train with them, one of them reading a newspaper, another a young girl looking out the window and constantly tugging on the form beside her, supposedly her mother.

A soft breeze came in though an open window, it whispered to the shaman and left out the way it came, he smiled, "Chihiro's safe still."

_"Sending a Sylph to watch her was foolishness, Slyphs follow the wims of the nearest person. Sen will want to find a way here, the death spirit will find her the moment she sets foot beyond a gate." _Blink licked a paw and washed it over his face, "_She's human, and unlike yourself, she doesn't have one of the gods on her side."_

"Well we're just going to have to control which gate she goes through," He said with a shrug, "And Inari isn't on my side," he pointed out, "It finds me a curiosity and I bring him information from beyond even his messengers reach, so he gives me passage when I want it." the young man turned back to the fox, "We'll just have to find a god or guardian that will be 'on her side'. She's got a few ins with dragon spirits, maybe,"

_"No, Celestial Dragons only side with those of imperial blood, and Sen isn't one of those, no matter how you bend it._"

With a sigh the white haired shaman pondered silently how they could find Chihiro and protect her at the same time, quietly he said to himself, "We're going to need more help."

* * *

Staying after school wasn't something Chihiro did often so her parents --shocked though they were-- gave her permission over the school's public phone. Of course she didn't stay at the school, as soon as the bell rang for dismissal she went for the city library. Slyph hadn't returned yet, but she didn't worry the wind spirit seemed to have a way of finding her no matter where she went. Not knowing where to start Chihiro went to one of the open computers and entered the first thing that came to mind. Seriyu.

The computer came up with a list of many different titles, a good deal of them in the fiction section. She took out a pad of paper and began writing down titles and authors, after the first twelve names a flittering breeze by her neck told her the wind spirit had returned.

_Look for the gates, not the guardians._ Its voice stated, _guardians will be with the gates no need to look for them._

She started another search. Temple of the East Gate. No results. "What now?"

_Enter words, Guardian of four compass directions._

"I don't think they go that specific." Still she entered the words, there was one book. She wrote it down and went to find it. The Slyph flitting behind her, ruffling pages and other people's hair as they went. Walking down though the shelves she thought aloud, "It's kind of like the book wants to be found."

_Be wary something walks these paths... _The wind spirit seemed agitated as it landed on her shoulder and shifted from one foot to the other. _I would not wish to meet it._

Chihiro found the book laying on its side in the shelf, she reached for it in the same moment a semi transparent hand came to rest on it. She yelped and pulled her hand away, slowly she turned her head to look at a white robed being, a mask covering its face, she could see directly through it to the shelves behind it, it's head tilted to the side curiously. It lifted the book and held it out toward her asking her the silent question if she wanted this one. The human managed a shallow bow. "Do you want this one?"

_Don't speak to it! _The sylph warned too late.

The masked face changed into a smile and it moved toward her, Chihiro swallowed and took a step back. Books on their shelves trembled then fell to the ground, others fell toward her, still the spirit walked forward holding the book toward her. Deep in Chihiro's chest her heart screamed for her to run. She did, books began flinging themselves off the shelves in her direction, the slyph took to the air, doing its best to slow the books. In other isles there were cries as the same thing began happening in them. Chihiro took a moment's glance behind her, it was floating after her, the book still extended.

She took a few sharp turns and lost it for a moment, she went toward the tables for studying and dove under one of them, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she started repeating softly while watching more and more books seem to take on a life of their own and chase after those who were in the library.

"You have a way of attracting trouble don't you Chihiro."

The young girl raised her head at the sound of the voice, "Kuhaku?" she whispered hardly believing her ears. She slid out slightly from under the desk to look at a spirit she'd thought she'd never see again.

He smiled down at her and held out a hand, "Come, I don't have much time." He had indeed changed from what she'd last seen of him, he was older, but there wasn't time to ponder on that at the moment, the discruntled spirit caught sight of the two of them. Chihiro took his hand and got to her feet, "While I don't agree with you trying to get to the spirit realm I'll show you the way, this time." Chihiro opened her mouth to argue. He cut her off with a glance, "Later Chihiro, now we have to get out of here."

The spirit once more took a speedy glide in her direction, Haku took a step in front of her, he held out a hand and from it came a pulse, it pushed the spirit away, and all the books in the building froze mid-air and fell directly to the ground. He smirked, "Lets go." He pulled her after him like he had so long ago around all those standing in the building and out the doors. Outside he paused and looked around, "Where?" he asked over her shoulder to her.

_The shrine, _Slyph suggested, _It will hide our presence well._

"This way." Not letting go of Haku's hand, for fear he would dissapear if she let go she led him toward the nearest shrine.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It had to be one of her dreams, Chihiro sat on one of the shrine benches with Haku standing a few yards away arguing with the wind spirit. She blinked and pinched herself for good measure, it hurt. Yep, she was awake. She grinned and went over to the two of them.

Haku had grown taller, he's hair was longer, he'd taken to binding it back just below the nap of his neck leaving about two inches below the binding. He no longer wore the robes of one of the bath house workers. Insted he was in a black haori with sliver scales embroidered into it, the sleeves were cut across the shoulders revealing the white shirt underneath, beneath it his clothes looked almost like those any other would wear, almost like a school's uniform. Chihiro couldn't help but laugh, "Haku, you look strange."

The river spirit turned to her with a questioning look, "Meaning?"

"I just wouldn't expect you to wear those kind of clothes." She clarified, then unable to restrain herself any more she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him. "Oh Haku, I didn't think..."

Kuhaku smiled and returned her tender jesture. "I told you before, we'd see each other again if it we're meant to." He had her release him, he cleared his thoatand took a step away from her, "As I said I don't have much time, I'll be here only until sunset." He looked to the wind spirit, "You can return to Futen until then if you wish."

Sylph scoffed, _Futen pays little mind to Sylph, lesser spirit means little in the eyes of wind god._It flew over onto Chihiro's shoulder, _Command to stay with Sen until she reaches spirit realm._

"Commanded by who?" Haku asked.

_Shaman._

Chihiro tugged on Haku's sleeve, "What is a shaman?"

He sighed, "A shaman is a human who can walk both the spirit world and the real world under the guidance of one of the gods. They also can call on lesser spirits to do tasks for them. I couldn't begin to guess at a shaman that would be taking an interest in this." He paused and waited for the wind spirit to speak, which it didn't. He turned back to Chihiro, "I don't want you to go to the spirit realm, it's too dangerous for you now. The moment you step footin the spirit realm the death spirit will know you are there and send its minions to find you."

The young human put her hands on her hips, "I'm the reason the death spirit is at the bathhouse, I don't want my friends to be punished by it or by Yubabaon my account."

Hakusmiled, she hadn't changed at all. "Alright, I'll show you the way to the dragon gate, but just know that Seriyu won't let you through without some kind of promise." Chihiro nodded, Kuhaku touched her forehead, then pulled his fingers away abruptly. "Something's coming."

Chihiro's heart jumped into her throat, the last time it had been a vengeful spirit. From the corner of her eye she saw something moving, chills ran up her spine. Haku pulled her back over to the bench and sat her behind him, "Don't move; and don't let any part of you touch the ground."

"What is it?" She asked quitely, lifting her feet from the floor, then she moved to glance over his shoulder. She paled.

What she saw was a skeletal form, black smoke engulfing from every part ot its bones, its empty eye sockets searched left and right, there was no lower jaw to its overly rounded skull. Its extended fingers probing through the air and a sickening sound of breathing echoing in its empty ribcage. Chihiro immediately looked away and kept herself hidden behind Haku'sback. "It's a death imp" Haku said softly, "It lives off the decay of the living, and what death spirit's give it for finding what they are looking for."

Kuhaku watched it as it continued on its staggering path into the trees and away from them. Haku'shold on her hands lessened as the distance between them and the imp increased. Finally he told her it was alright. "It looks like this place is becoming just as dangerous for you Chihiro." He looked to the wind spirit as it came back down from its hiding place. "Are you going to take her to this shaman after you bring her though the gate?"

_Shaman will meet us there! _Slyph stated cheerily, _He seeks to help Sen, to find which god will take her into their favor and guard her from death spirit._

Haku shook his head and looked to Chihiro, "You don't need the favor of the gods, you need to find out why the death spirit is interested in you." He touched her forehead again.

She heard his voice in her mind again, _"The east gate only opens when the sun is rising or setting, you must be there before the sun's light leaves the gate's doorway." _Images flashed though her mind of the path to the gate. "_You mustn't seem weak before Seriyu, if he doesn't like what he sees in you he'll eat you in one bite." _A great blue dragon appeared in her mind, anger showed in his eyes, his mouth alone could have swallowed Yubaba's son in one bite without scratching the baby's skin. Kuhaku pulled his fingers away from her head, "Understand?"

Chihironodded and gulped, "But what if,"

"Don't worry Chihiro," Hakusaid with a smile, "I'll be on the other side of the gate as well, dragon spirits with no place to return go the the dragon gate to rest." He looked up at the sylph hovering above them. "You are to take care of her Sylph, I'll find you and show you pain if you don't." To which the spirit agreed emphatically. Haku looked up at the sky then back to Chihiro. "I still have some time," He smiled at her, "Show me something of your world?"

To this Chihiro agreed most emphatically.

* * *

Sitting and doing nothing was starting to grow tedious. The death spirit paced the room she had been given, she wore her black robes and pulled its hood up over its face. It was time to call on a higher power for a little assistance. She went to its knees and called to its master.

The room became darker and darker the longer its call lasted. slowly floating flames began appearing around her crouched form. Grinning she put her head to the ground as her god answered her calls. Assistance came as more of the glowing flames appeared around her each a servant to do her bidding. She stood once again and looked from one ghost spirit to the next with pleasure.

"Find her, where ever she maybe." The deah spirit stated. At her words each began blinking out one at a time, each going where another wasn't to search as commanded for the human girl the death spirit wanted.

Climbing back on the train many miles away the shaman looked to the sky from under her white hood, "Its made it's move. We have to hurry Blink, we have to mask her the moment she arrives." The fox nodded beside him and slipped onto the train and getting back into the same seat again, "Seriyu's not going to like this many unexpected visitors."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It wasn't difficult to find something in her world that Haku hadn't seen. The first thing she did was to get him to change the haori. They walked down the streets, even he could tell that he didn't quite fit in with the others. Using those magic skills that Chihiro couldn't even begin to understand he changed it into a jacket that one of the other people walking by was wearing. "Better?" He asked. To which Chihiro nodded.

"So, how are you here?" She asked the first question that had been mediphorically prodding her in the back.

Haku explained, "For some unknown reason you have become of interest to many in the spirit world, and that is never a good thing." They paused out side a bookstore, he read over a few of the titles in the window with facination before returning to the conversation, "I managed to slip away from the spirit world for a short while to try and find out for myself what exactly has caught everyone's interests." He kept a comment about his own interests in Chihiro to himself.

They paused at a street corner when the light turned red, "Have you figured it out yet?"

He shook his head, "Usually there always is one though," he took her hand and squeezed it slightly, "no matter how small." The light changed and others began to move. So did Chihiro but Haku pulled her back as a car sped though the intersection from the wrong direction. With a screech of breaks and a shattering of glass someone screamed. Someone was hit. "We have to go." He pulled her away from the growing crowds and ran; Chihiro ran behind him.

She looked over her shoulder and saw flickers in the crowd, "They died didn't they?"

"A death spirit will come to collect its soul, if it sees you it will report it to the one at the bath house." He pulled her around a corner and into an alley. "What did you see?"

Chihiro thought it over for a moment, "What should I of seen?"

Haku shook his head, " I can't tell you what you saw Chihiro, please you have to tell me, if you saw it then they likely saw you."

"Lights," Chihiro whispered after a moment, "There was smoke that shimmered, it was floating around all the people."

After a moment Haku nodded, "Will o' the wisps, the lights you saw are called will o' the wisps. They serve any dark master that gathers them, they're like Kimaji's soot balls, as long as they have a purpose they exist. They were only arriving as we left, I don't think they saw us." He looked around the corner and down the streets and sidewalk, "We're safe, lets go." They walked away from the road calmly, Haku keeping a hold on her hand, after a moment he seemed to relax a bit more, "I'm sure you have other questions you want to ask me."

Chihiro nodded in agreement to this, "But I don't want to waste the time you have here with questions."

"I only came here to see you Chihiro." He said with a soft smiled and soft eyes looking at her, Chihiro couldn't help but blush. "Ask me what you want to know."

They wandered around the town for hours, Chihiro asking questions, what he'd been doing while she'd been there, he wanted to know about school and its purpose. She asked about the various guardians, he explained them. Soon the sun was fading over the horizon and they were in a park when Haku looked up at the amber shades in the sky. Chihiro looked as well. "You have to go now?"

Haku nodded, "I'll walk you home first." He took her hand as darkness began to fill the air Sylph reappeared and followed behind them silently until they reached Chihiro's home, _I take good care of Sen, Sylph promises._ Haku looked at the wind spirit and nodded. The river spirit looked to Chihiro and kissed her hand before releasing it. He took several steps back before he shifted into his dragon form. He'd gotten longer his horns were longer, his scales darker he bowed his head to the human once more before taking to the sky, slowly fading away.

"I'll see you soon Haku!" Chihiro called after him before darting into her house.

* * *

She opened her eyes as the lights began to flicker into the room again. The will o' the wisps whispered to her, their words sounding like breaths of smoke. But she seemed to understand, slowly a smile spread on her face and she sat up. "So, you think to protect her?" she whispered, "she will come, she will fight, and she will die." The death spirit slowly rose and dressed. She walked out into the nearly empty halls and walked toward the elevator.

The spirit went to the highest floor and walked uninvited into Yubaba's office, the witch jumped in suprise at the appearance of the spirit and quickly forced a smiled onto her wrinkled features, "Is there something I can assist you with most honored guest?"

"Tell me about the one known as Haku."

* * *

(A.N) *Yes the chapter is short, forgive me and the lateness of posting.*


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chihiro's alarm rang only once before she turned it off. She rolled over in bed, the wind spirit's little head was still tucked under her wing. Chihiro looked out her window stars still twinkled in the black blanketed sky. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes trying to remember why she'd set her alarm for so early. She looked around her room, it was cleaner than she usually kept it and on her desk was her messenger bag, instead of its usual contents it had clothes in it. She gasped and sat up quickly, "Sylph, come one we're going today."

Sylph's head poked out from under her wing and she shook herself sending a small whirlwind of air down from around her. _Yes, must hurry!_

They had decided to wait until the week was over before making the journey, mostly from Chihiro's wishes, she took out the letter she'd written to her parents and changed into her most comfortable pair of pants, sneakers, and t-shirt she had in her possession. Silently the two crept down the stairs, Sylph had discovered all the creaky wood boards in the house while Chihiro had been at school and had been working on how to get them to the East Gate. Sylph flitted over the non-creaky places making their way to the kitchen Chihiro left the letter on the counter. Once this was done she left.

The bus stop was empty when they arrived, Chihiro sat down, the wind spirit landed on her shoulder and tucked her head under her wing again. _Wake if others come. _She was quickly asleep. Chihiro simply smiled and watched as a few car drove past, their headlights highlighting the bus stop before the vehicles flashed past. Chihiro turned her head away when the lights flashed in her eyes. It was only a few minutes before the bus arrived; she climbed on, paid for her ride to the train station. She picked up Sylph off her shoulder and held the spirit in her lap while they rode.

The bus continued only pausing to pick up other passengers. And at this hour there were few, and of the few none of them looked like people Chihiro would like to encounter; thankfully none of them tried to speak or even approach Chihiro. At the train station she woke the wind spirit the two of them walked the few feet in the darkness to the train station doors. The wind spirit began to panic just before the doors.

_They come they come, must hurry they will make us stop!_The spirit tried to push her faster with snapping breezes, Chihiro got the idea and went inside quickly, _No look back, if Sen look back can't go forward._

Chihiro continued on quickly, she could feel the wind spirit continuing to push her forward, while in her stomach she could feel something following her eageryly trying to make her look back she whimpered and rung her hands around the strap of her bag and walked faster. Black smoke began filtering around her legs even as she walked, Sylph ordered her to go faster or they would be stuck. Chihiro broke into a near run, "What are they?" she called to the bird.

"_They are bounty hunters." _A third voice said, _"Do not take the train you are planning to take, when you reach the platforms take a left."_

"Who are you?" She demanded still running, she didn't plan to listen to this voice until she knew if it was friend or foe.

"_I'll meet you at the platforms, Sylph is required elsewhere."_

At his words the wind spirit vanished, Chihiro swallowed nervously but continued to run, "Alright I'm getting tired of all this..."

_"And it's just beginning." _Chihiro looked up just in time to see a humanoid spirit dash behind her, "_Turn left!"_It yelled as it ran past, Chihiro did as she was ordered, she could hear screeches of creatures from behind her. The human ran until she had to stop to catch her breath. "_Not bad for a human."_ She humphed and turned around to face the spirit but it wasn't behind her; she blinked curiously. It sighed, _"Down here."_

At her feet sat a black fox with a red cloth around his neck. "But weren't you just...?"

_"While I marvel at your observation abilities, the bounty hunters are only distracted by my duplicate,"_ He began walking again, "_We must press on."_

"Wait a minute, I'm not going any further until you tell me who you are!" Chihiro demanded.

_"You may call me Blink."_ He stated, _"I am a servant of great Inari, god and goddess of knowledge."_ He continued walking, _"The shaman would of preferred to come get you his self, but Inari won't allow him to leave until its curiosity is satiated."_

The human blinked, "What does any of this have to do with the gods? I thought this only involved spirits." The spirit paused and pulled out a ticket for a different train than the one she'd bought and held it out for her.

She took the ticket from his mouth, he spoke again, _"Naivety is not something most have tolerance for. The gods have everything to do with this, it is something they enjoy; why they would choose a human such as yourself to play with is beyond my comprehension. You are lucky that you have many spirits that are trying to protect you."_

Chihiro climbed on the train and handed the conductor her ticket, she was directed to a cabin and found herself a seat. The black fox spirit sat next to her, "Why did we have to get on a different train? I'm not going to be able to reach the East gate in time..."

"_Don't make me laugh, shaman had to redirect your path. The other train would have been overrun by death spirits had you boarded it."_ He worked on cleaning his face for a moment before continuing, "_The train you were going to board has had its schedule switched with this one, it will take us where we need to go."_

"Who is this shaman anyway? Why is he trying to help me?"

The fox shrugged, "_He has not said why, only that you are important and must not fall into the hands of the death spirit."_

Chihiro metally added those questions to the list that she planned to ask this shaman when she met him. She sighed and looked out the window for a moment before turning back to Blink. "What happened to Sylph?"

"_Shaman sent her on an errand, this is quickly becoming more difficult for him to bare on his own."_ He yawned and stretched out on the seat. "_The Dragon Gate will be at the second stop. Pray that we reach it as the sun crosses it, or we will be trapped here for another day."_

She was about to ask him another question but noticed his eyes were closed and he appeared to already be fast asleep. That was the only thing she envied spirits for; it seemed no matter the danger ahead they always managed to sleep peacefully. Chihiro sighed and went back to looking out the window at the station. Moments later the train began to pull out, and into the dark night that pressed in on the windows.

* * *

The young shaman pulled his cloak tighter around him, walking through the corridors of the bathhouse while unseen was simple. Walking through sleeping dragons was a different matter; waking one from his slumber even while under protection of a god and using an invisiblity spell of any strength promised to be eaten upon waking. He took a deep calming breath, "Just take it slow Raz, go to fast and it will be the last thing we ever do." He groaned and shook his head, "Gotta stop talking to myself."

Slowly he traversed over tails, snouts and clawed hands. Occationally one would move as he stepped over he'd freeze; waiting for it to stop before moving on. It wouldn't be difficult to see which was Seiryu, unfortunately he was buried under many of his underlings at the moment making the dragon guardian more difficult to have a conversation with. He sighed and continued past the massive dragon toward the red wooden gate where Chihiro and hopefully Blink would be arriving any moment now.

A dragon flew directly over his head making Raz duck and cover, dragons were suppose to be sleeping at this time, dawn was approaching. He slowly pulled his hands away from his head to look up at the human form of the dragon spirit standing before him, before remembering he was invisible he spoke to him. "What are you doing awake?" Raz slapped a hand over his mouth the instant after the words left his mouth.

Kuhaku's hand shot out and grabbed hold of the shaman's arm, the hood fell from around his face, he watched Kuhaku's eyes while they searched his own, slowly the dragon's grip on him lessened. "You are the shaman then?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Raz felt betrayed.

Kuhaku had taken his bag of tricks and his cloak from him the instant he'd said yes. Now he sat bound to the gate itself while Chihiro and Blink could arrive at any moment, and the second after she was there the death spirit would be there to take her. "Seiryu doesn't wake up until night fall, and we don't have time for you to be playing the part of gate guardian! Inari sent me, please believe me I mean no danger to the gate or any of those here!"

The dragon only glanced up at the shaman with slight contempt. He folded the cloak and put it to the left of his captive. Then began going through his other bags, "Why are you bringing Chihiro here?"

Raz blinked, "You know Chihiro?" He looked away from the dragon as he began mentally sorting through all the information he'd gathered about Chihiro then snapped his attention back to the dragon spirit. "Your Haku! Right?"

For a moment the dragon just watched him, pacing slightly, trying to understand exactly what this shaman seemed to have in mind, and what he had to do with Chihiro. "How do you expect to protect Chihiro once she crosses the gate?" Kuhaku asked when he finally put the bag on the cloak and sat across from Raz. The shaman stubbornly remain silent; while dragons could be the most generous of spirits they were also the most hard headed when it came to making bargains of any kind. Haku kept a neutral face as he spoke again, "If it is as you say, and Chihiro is coming at any time it would be wise for you to talk."

Raz sighed, "I'm going to mask her by sharing my spirit energy with her." He tried to get as comfortable as he could while magically bound, Kuhaku waited silently for the rest of the explination. "My old sensei taught me how it's done, I've got everything I need in that bag," He motioned toward the bag at his side, "I have to preform it immediately at her arrival or the death spirit will arrive soon after."

"And how is this done?"

Raz groaned, he hated explaining these things to people who were involved it often got him hit up side the head or even banished from that part of the spirit realm. It was the reason the Sylph had to visit the pheonix guardian insted of him going himself, one minor slip of the tongue and he got the threat of being turned to ash if she ever saw his face again. "There's lots of preparation that goes into this, but it only takes seconds to complete; I put one of those white marble looking pills in my mouth then transfer it into her mouth from mine."

Haku watched him motionlessly for a moment before he slowly and meticulously got to his feet, "You would have to kiss her?" He sounded rather irritated.

Raz tried to make himself look as small as possible, not hard for a boy just reaching thirteen, "If you want to call it that, I'm just hoping Blink will explain it to her before they get here. I really don't want to ruin a first meeting by getting slapped." He swallowed as Haku continued to glare and began to advance, "But it doesn't have to be me! I was going to ask Seiryu to do it... the stonger the spirit the less often it has to be done; and I'm just a shaman." He flinched when Kuhaku bent down near him.

The magical bindings released Raz, "Get ready then."

* * *

Blink hopped off the train behind Chihiro, he stretched and looked up at the human girl, she yawned and shook her head trying to ward of sleep. "_Don't fall asleep, when we reach the Celestial Cove you may rest."_

Chihiro nodded only half listening to the fox as she walked toward the doors out into the city. There was a great deal more activity here than in her home town. Cars sped down the streets and people moved in bustling groups down the sidewalks; all of them ignoring the girl that stood and stared at them. Slowly she raised her eyes to the skies, it was gaining blue hues in the darkness.

_"Hurry Chihiro."_ The fox spirit said, "_We still have a walk ahead of us."_

"Kay." She hopped down the stairs, skipping every other one and walked through a group of people after the black fox. "Are we being followed?" She asked softly, not entirely sure if he would hear her, but not wanting to look like a crazy person talking to herself.

"_Not that I can sense."_He said while weaving his own path between feet and wheeling bags. Chihiro was being bumped, pushed, and nearly knocked off her feet as she tried to follow. _"But don't let your guard down, not even my senses cover all the ranges which spirits vibrate."_

"A little help here." She called piteously.

"_I cannot do anything about them."_Blink stated, but slowed his own pace to stay close to Chihiro. "_When we cross the gate, shaman is planning to mask your human energy with a spirit energy. Don't be offended by the process, it is the only way to keep the will o' the wisps, and other allies of the death spirit from finding you for any period of time."_

_"_Alright, what is he going to do?" Chihiro asked, tightening her hold on her bag.

_"In your terms, he will be giving you a kiss."_The spirit said as if it was an everyday occurrence for her.

"Oh," Chihiro said, then paused. "He's gonna what?"

They crossed a street, then the fox turned off the busy street and into a residential area. He continued walking, picking up the pace again. _"It will be painless human, you shouldn't feel a thing."_ He started up a long flight of stairs. _"And makes sure to swallow."_

The sun broke over the horizon, Chihiro squeaked and turned toward the fox, he was already half way up the stairs. "_Don't stand there run human!"_

Chihiro did, she ran hoping her legs could carry her, Blink's occasional yells for her to run urged her to go faster. She looked up at the gate; it was glimmering, light shuddered and rippled in it. Not watching her footing she tripped herself and fell headlong through the gate.

The gate flashed and she vanished, coming out the other side, falling into someone. "Now quick!" Someone ordered.

A hand lifted up her face and to her surprised Kuhaku put his lips to her, and forced her mouth open. She felt his tongue push something from his own mouth into her.

"_Swallow! I told you, you must swallow human!"_ Blink yelled.

It tasted like salt with the smell of burnt gymsocks that had sat in the bottom of the oven for far too long. The texture reminded her of an eye ball, she forced herself to swallow it. It didn't roll down her throat, it seemed to break the instant she swallowed, drizzling slowly and slimily down her throat, then it felt like it crawled through out her body.

Haku stood her up and looked to the shaman. Raz was sitting in the center of a design his hands pressed together and his cloak fluttering slightly around him. After another moment he opened his eyes and the cloak settled on his back again, he sighed in relief and nodded, it had worked.

* * *

She ran a hand silently over the water in the hot tub, she calmly looked to the few wisps that surrounded her, "What do you mean, she's vanished?"

The wisps all began speaking at once, telling of sensing the human crossing the barrier, then her aura vanishing from their senses.

The death spirit sighed and got out of the water, "I wish for a wisp with eyes to see by." She shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose while putting on a fresh robe. "Someone else is helping her, I must discover who, and how, and why..." She tied the robe around her tightly, "I seem to be in need of a doppelganger."

The wisps blinked out at the mention of the creature. The spirit smirked and walked out of the bath house.

Rin slowly backed away from where she had been crouching. She bit her lip and watched it walk away, "Sen..." She took off toward the boiler room.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The bed was soft. It has a way to wrap around her in just the right way that Chihiro didn't want to move from that place. She heard mumbling, and footsteps it was time to wake up, time for school. She sighed and nuzzled down into her pillow, she'd been having such a nice dream. Kuhaku was there, spirits had been chasing her, but she was safe because Haku was there.

The door groaned open, "See she's not even awake yet Haku." A voice that she didn't recignize stated.

Her eyes shot opened and she rolled over, this wasn't her house; and it hadn't been a dream.

"Now she is." Kuhaku stated, he walked over toward her and smiled down at her. "Sleep well Chihiro?"

She continued to look at him for a moment then turned bright red, he'd kissed her. Chihiro tried to calm herself down; it wasn't an actual kiss she was sure if it was an actual kiss she would of enjoyed it more, and that pill that she swallowed wouldn't of been there. But still she was blushing uncontrollably; Haku looked concerned as she continued to turn redder the longer he looked at her, until she grabbed one of the pillows and covered her face with it. "Don't look at me like that, your the one who kissed me!"

There was an out burst of laughter from behind Haku, Chihiro grabbed another pillow, peeked out around the one covering her face and threw it at the white haired boy. It thumped him heavily in the face. "Hey that's no way to treat the guy who's been protecting you!"

Chihiro sat up in the bed and tossed the other pillow at him "So you're the shaman!" He ducked avoiding this one entirely. "Your the one responsible for all this mess!" She glowered past Haku, entirely forgetting him for a moment.

"The only thing I'm responsible for is getting you here safely and keeping you out of the death spirit's hands!" He yelled back and stuck out his tongue childishly. Not to be out done Chihiro also stuck out her tongue.

"Children, honestly behave yourselves or I'll have all of you escorted from my palace." A tall form said from the door way.

Kuhaku bowed low to him, "Our apologies Lord Seriyu, you'll have to forgive my guests they are,"

"Human," the dragon guardian filled in coming into the room, "Yes I could tell, the shaman I can tolerate, but this one..." He seemed to float to Chihiro's side, by magic he made her lift her chin and turned her head from one side to another, his hand several inches from her chin as well, "This is the one that all the fuss has been about? She seems quite ordinary to me." He lowered her hand and Chihiro lowered her head again.

"That's why I'm here, my lord, I want to find out why this spirit and others have become so interestied in me." she said softly feeling very strange in the presense of this dragon.

His skin seemed to have a glimmer even in this shape, giving the illusion of scales, his eyes were a golden shade with slits for pupils that continued to study her while she studied him. His hair was long and black, bound at various places down his back with some of it coming over his shoulders these also held in what appeared to be golden bands. He wore traditional japanese clothes with blues, whites, and blacks blended through out the fabric. He smiled, "If you are hungry I will have a special meal prepared for them." They all turned to Chihiro for her answer, she slowly nodded and thanked him. "It is no trouble child, but I do request that you and the shaman both depart as soon as you have eaten your fill. While I shall play the gracious host I have no wish to draw death spirits into Celestial Cove."

Chihiro got out of bed as the guardian made to leave, "Wait!" The dragon paused, intrigued that a human would order him so he turned to look at her once more, the girl bowed low to the guardian, "Thank you sir for letting me sleep here."

The guardian smirked, "Interesting indeed..." he said softly then nodded and left.

Kuhaku let out a sigh and looked back to Chihiro, "I'm sure your hungry."

* * *

Haku had to leave to attend to other things, leaving Chihiro alone with Raz, the shaman who didn't touch the food the dragon guardian offered, "Its not bespelled is it?"

"Hmm?" he looked up at the girl and away from the food, "Oh no, I just don't eat." Chihiro blinked at this statement, "You see, I'm not actually here, my body's in a coma, I've been this way for the past seven years, my master is watching over my body while I take care of you and complete my apprenticeship." He said with a smile.

"Seven years?" Chihiro asked incredulously, "You agreed to do that?" Raz nodded slowly, "Why would anyone agree to do something like that?"

Raz shrugged, "Every shaman does it. My master spent a decade in the spirit world detached from his body. Doing so helps you to gain favor with gods and goddesses, it also makes it easier to not be discovered." He smirked, "Your spirit energy grows a great deal when you're away from your body."

Chihiro could onlly shake her head and continue to put the food into her mouth, she chewed thoughtfully and swallowed, "What's your name?"

He grinned and stood, with a flurished bow he said, "Razimillian the Third, but just call me Raz. It became something of a tradition to name the kids in my family after my great-great grandfather, the first shaman in our line if the kid has a showing for the talent. My sister's are all greatful that they didn't have the gift; unlike my aunt Milli." Chihiro giggled, "Honest, I have an aunt Razmillian." He took a seat again, "But I'm sure you have other questions you want to ask me too."

Chihiro thought about it as she continued eating, all the other questions had become unimportant except for one. "This death spirit, it wouldn't be in favor with any gods would it?"

Raz bit his lip and shrugged, "I don't know, I've sent out pleanty of my own spies to Shadow Grove, but it's a harsh place, only a few ever came back. So we could be facing something more than just a death spirit, one of the death gods may have a grudge or something against you." He picked up the chopsticks that had been placed before him and played with bits of food.

"I've never done anything to upset a death god." Chihiro was sure of that. She finished eating and stood, "I'm done; when are we leaving?"

"As soon as Kuhaku comes back."

"Kuhaku's coming with us?" She felt a knot in her stomach.

Raz nodded, "He was the one who gave you a portion of his energy to hide you, if he says and we go it will look like he's in two places at once to will o' wisps and your death spirit will be on us before we can do anything about it." He shrugged while walking toward the door, "Besides, if I tried to give you my spirit energy now one, Haku would kill me for sure, two you'd likely slap me, and three your human body wouldn't be able to take having three oh-so-different energies running in your body and you would die." The white haired boy looked over his shoulder at her, "I'm sure you wouldn't want that."

Chihiro swallowed, "Alright." She could already feel that this was going to be a vary long journey.

The shaman grinned, "He's going to have to do it again tomorrow morning." He then darted away before Chihiro could find something to throw at him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kuhaku looked back at Celestial Cove as they walked into the city surrounding the gate. Chihiro was walking in front of him, her hands clasped behind her back while her eyes wandered to take in everything she possibly could. Haku broke the silence, "You need different clothes." The human looked over her shoulder and agreed. Haku continued to walk on before looking over his own shoulder at the shaman who was talking with the black fox, "You will have to pay for it."

The shaman groaned and looked at the fox, "Why am I expected to pay for it? You don't think that your master would pay for it?"

Blink laughed and shook his head, _"Gods don't give into the pitiful habits of spirits._" The fox jumped forward and landed on Chihiro's shoulder, "_However, I am able to pay for it is needed."_

Chihiro looked at the fox in surprise, "You would do that why?"

The fox sniffed, _"We need to hide you, and being in your human clothes does no good to keep you hidden." _The spirit looked over his shoulder at the other two, _"My advice is for the two of you to make purchase any other necessitiess for this journey to Swamp Bottom, I will go with Chihiro to get what she needs."_

Haku opened his mouth to argue but Chihiro spoke first. "I think Blink's right, I don't know what we'll need for this trip. Besides," she shrugged, "I don't think either of you really want to sit around and wait for me to try on clothes." With that said she started off, Blink jumped down from her shoulder and led the way to one of the finer clothing stores he knew of in this area.

The shaman looked from the vanishing pair to Haku, he grinned, "You wouldn't of minded waiting to see what she picked out." he said teasingly, the dragon spirit slowly turned his eyes to the shaman. Raz flinched, "Wow, if looks could kill."

"Watch your words Shaman, there are some looks that can kill." With that Haku dragged Raz off to buy supplies.

* * *

Chihiro waited by the door while Blink went and spoke with the spirit's who ran the shop. Her mind unwillingly wandered back to the kiss. She pressed a finger to her lips and smiled slightly.

"_If you are still pondering about the kiss you were given I think that this action has more weight to you than to Kuhaku."_ The fox spirit stated,_"Or perhaps it meant more to him that I have judged since Raz was suppose to be the one to perform the action in question."_Chihiro flushed a deep shade of red, _"Oh my, yes, I haven't put enough thought into this then._"

She shuffled her feet, "Its just that in the human world it means something more than just an action..." she tried to explain, but the fox only shook his head and told her to come in, "How long will it take to find me something new to wear?" She remembered going to clothing stores for hours on end to find just the right shirt to match that new skirt she'd bought that one time.

_"Not long." _He replied, _"They simply need to measure you first."_The fox hopped onto a chair, a spirit brought him a drink while others directed Chihiro around the room. 'Stand here', 'arms up', etc etc etc.

Once that was done she sat next to Blink and they all vanished. "Are you sure this won't take long?"

Blink finished a sip of his drink and laughed, "_My dear, I am a servant of the god Inari, not of high rank in his court but of high enough that what I want here in the spirit world I get."_

"Wow, I didn't know I was with such high company." She said with a smile. "Thank you Blink, your very kind to me."

The spirit fox snorted and finished his drink as three of the spirits attending to them came out and told Chihiro to stand again.

* * *

"Ugh," Raz paced back and forth on the train station platform. "I knew we shouldn't of let the two of them go alone." He looked at the clock again then to Haku sitting calmly on the bench, his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest. "You're not worried in the slightest are you... How can you not be concerned?"

Kuhaku opened one eye and looked at him, "She shares my spirit energy, I can feel her presence." He closed his eye again, "You are simply to worried shaman,they're approaching as we speak."

The first form onto the platform was Blink, in his human-esk form. He retained his fox tail and ears, his black hair bound back in several places with different sized gold beads. In his arms was Chihiro's purchases, three sets of clothes that were more suitable for the spirit realm. "_The girl."_ He motioned behind himself and stepped to the side.

Chihiro had braided her hair back, she was in a pair of black traditional japanese pants and a just below her mid-thigh length kimono, its sleeves fell down around her hands, it was white with blue flowers around the edges and tied with a black sash. She looked up at the two of them and smiled, "Sorry, Blink suggested that I get more than one in case of accidents." she bowed to them, "It's my fault we're a little late."

Raz had to pick his jaw up from the floor, "Don't worry, the train's not even here yet."

"Which is strange," Haku stated. "It should of come by now."

Raz looked to Blink. "You think she got a hold of the train?" The spirit shook his head, "I know, but what if she did?" He sighed, "I guess we should just start walking along the tracks."

"I agree."

"Couldn't Haku just fly us there?" Chihiro asked, she was holding the shoes they'd bought for her in her hands not sure if she wanted to wear them yet.

The dragon and shaman finally both agreed on something, they both shook their heads. "It would draw too much attention." Chihiro sighed and put on her shoes.

"Alright, lets start walking then."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Once they'd packed Chihiro's clothes in with the rest of their supplies they began walking. Blink returned to his fox form and walked along one of the iron rails, Chihiro walked on the other one, her arms out to keep her balance. Haku and Raz walked several steps behind them outside the railing. Raz looked cautiously over at the dragon, who was watching Chihiro who was talking with Blink. "You know..." He began slowly and quietly, "Someone should teach her how to protect herself if she ever gets into any kind of trouble."

Haku looked over at the shaman, "If she gets into trouble I'll protect her." He stated simply, then continued forward.

"What if she's alone?"

He paused while Raz continued forward a few steps then turned to look at him. "She won't be alone. Ever." He stated while walking forward once again.

Raz waited for Haku to be several feet a head of him. "I'm just saying if... I mean, you can't stay with her, always." He shrugged and started walking again. "When do you expect to explain to her that you've got to give her another one of those pills in the morning?" Raz grinned at the lack of response, "Don't worry I'll tell her." He smiled smugly and looked up into the air.

The wind spun in front of his eyes, Sylph appeared and landed on his shoulder. She whispered quickly and quietly in his ear, he nodded, "Keep going, be careful little one. She's looking for connection points." The spirit nodded and nipped at the feather earring before taking off and vanishing. Haku called for him to keep up, Raz began to walk after the other three.

"Raz tell me more about you." Chihiro prodded and turned backwards and continued to walk. "What made you into a shaman?"

He smiled and shrugged, "It was in my family, it only seemed natural that I would become a shaman." He shrugged again, "There isn't anything else to it, my master has trained me well in what I do and now I am in the service of Inari with Blink; until my time that my apprenticeship is over that is." He seemed to look forward to this time. Razmillian walked along one of the rails then jumped smoothly over to the other, "You know being a spirit yourself in the spirit world has its advantages."

"So you and Blink are partners?"

Blink shook his head, "_I am not partners with the human. We are put together on this simple mission, nothing more._"

Raz nodded, "Just as he said, my master has me on the task of watching over you, and Inari has Blink following after us to learn what all the ruckus around you is about." He turned and looked over his shoulder, "Here comes the train."

In the distance there was the loud whistle from said train, they stepped off the tracks as it grew closer, _"It won't stop." _Blink stated, "_it only stops at stations."_

Still, the train began to slow as it grew nearer, it crawled past them Chihiro watched the window as it went. There weren't many on the train but one face caught her attention. She started to walk after the train then began running, "Rin!" She called, "Hurry, Rin's on the train!"

A hand shot out and took hold of her arm, "Chihiro, the station Rin would have had to get on is three stops ahead of us."

"The train only runs in one direction." Chihiro stated, "What if she's rode it all the way from the bathhouse around to here?" She tried to pull away but Haku held her tighter, "Ow! Your hurting me!"

"We're leaving the tracks." Kuhaku stated, "Following a set path will make it easier for the death spirit to find us." He nearly dragged her away.

Raz grabbed hold of both of their wrists making Haku stop, "While the dragon makes an excellent point, the tracks are also the fastest way. The spirit will expect us to leave the tracks, she has her spies everywhere by now. Even on the train." He looked to Chihiro, "I don't doubt what you've seen but there's a good chance that its not the person you think that it is." Below their hands the air popped, the three looked down at a small unconscious creature breathing heavily. Raz blinked and leaned his head to the side, "Erasmus?" He released the two's arms and picked up the feathery griffin, white with black tribal markings patterning across its feathers; then laughed, "It is Erasmus." He shook his head and adjusted the creature in his arms to have it faced toward the other two. "Chihiro, Kuhaku, this is Erasmus, a messenger of my masters."

The human girl dropped down to look at the griffin's closed eyes, it keened softly and opened his eyes slowly. They glowed goldenly while looking back at the girl, it keened again curiously. "Is he a spirit?"

"_No_," Blink stated irritatedly, "_Its alive." _He looked around for a moment then looked up at the others, _"May I suggest taking this some place where we will not catch attention?"_

At that the five of them left the tracks and walked into the trees.

* * *

Erasmus cooed while sitting in Chihiro's lap, she gently stroked his small head making him coo happily all the more, "So what is he exactly?"

"A messenger." Raz repeated, "He does my master's running while he's watching after my body." He opened one of the packs and began rummaging through it, after a moment he came out with a piece of dried meat. Erasmus jumped from Chihiro's lap and with a few quick flaps caught the meat the shaman had tossed to him. He found a perch in one of the trees to eat his spoils. "Some times he sends him here with some information from the outside world." Raz walked over to the griffin and untied a bundle from his back foot then left the creature to his meal. It was a newspaper.

They all sat in silence while Raz read for a moment then he started laughing. "Chihiro, your parents think you were kidnapped."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chihiro lay under the covers that the boys had packed for her looking out into the dark of night, she could hear them both talking about something, what she wasn't sure. But what Raz had said kept running through her head, "Your parents think you were kidnapped." How could that be, she'd left a note for them and everything.

The little messenger had left soon after having finished his meal. Evedently it had other business to do because it didn't make much noise when it left. Raz and Haku were another thing all together, they were arguing now. Chihiro closed her eyes tightly and tried to drowned out the sound.

* * *

**You've cheated me, twice**_._

The voice echoed around Chihiro in the darkness, she spun looking for the source of the words. "Who's there?"

**_Don't act as if you don't know. _**It was bitter, cold and sliced through Chihiro's skin. **You and I have crossed paths.**

Chihiro bit her lip, "You're the death spirit?" She took several steps back from where she thought the voice was coming from.

It laughed, **Don't think to compare myself to something so small.** The voice started to compress in the area of directly before the girl. **I would hope I left some kind of impression on your mind.**

Chihiro took another step away and slipped falling into a river. She gasped, her mouth filling with water, **This was the first time.** The water flowed around her chilling her body, she caught hold of the horns of a dragon. Haku, ran the course through the river bringing her back to the shallow waters. Then she was back into the darkness, coughing and gasping she looked around for anyone.

"You said twice, when did I not die the second time?" She called angrily. "Nothing else like that's happened to me!"

**It's true, but it should have!** The voice replied just as angrily, **Something protects you girl, **it grabbed her arm, her skin felt like it was burning where the hand took hold of her. It released almost as she gasped, they both gasped in fact. **You're life should of ended on the banks of the Kuhaku River.**

"Is that why all of this is happening?" She rubbed her arm where it had touched her, "Because you don't think I'm suppose to be alive?"

**Its more complicated than that, but yes. I don't like to be cheated, **it stated,** I let it pass the first time because it was the spirit of the river's choice to save you, but now you only seem to annoy me.**

"Who do you think you are? Going around deciding who lives and who dies." She stood again. She could hear a faint voice calling her name in the distance.

**I don't have to answer to you.**

* * *

"Chihiro!" Haku shook her, "Chihiro!" He kept shaking her until she woke. He breathed a sigh of relief, the shaman was looking over Haku's shoulder biting his lip.

She sat up slightly, her muscles were twiching her arm ached and she had broken out in a cold sweat. "What's wrong?" Her dream was fading in her mind, she wanted to lay back down but Kuhaku pulled her up into a seated position and pulled the sleeve up her arm until it revealed where the thing had grabbed her, "It... grabbed me there..." Her skin was burned and blackened in places.

The shaman dropped down to her side, "What grabbed you?"

"I... I don't remember, I didn't see it. It was all... dark..." She groaned and grabbed her head, "I don't know it was a dreams wasn't it?"

Haku turned her arm in his hand, "This doesn't look like it was just a dream..." He walked away to get the bags.

"What did it say to you?" Raz asked taking her arm in his hands careful not to touch the injury.

Chihiro scowled, tearing her arm away from his hands and covered her ears, "I don't remember, just stop asking!"

Blink jumped down from above and sniffed the wound. "_Hmm... it is a touch of a god."_ He tucked his head down to his front paws. In what looked like a flash and a flood of black water the fox spirit was replaced by the human form that Chihiro had seen at the train station. "_If you please?"_ He held out his hand for her arm not wishing to touch her against her will. Chihiro looked up at Haku who stood over them.

He nodded, "Blink is a servant to a god, if it is what he says your injury is, a touch of a god, he will be able to fix it better than I." He sighed, "Even if it isn't..." He left the words hanging.

Chihiro held out her arm Blink pulled the sleeve up further and put his hands on either side of the burns under her arm. It stung where his hands touched, Chihiro flinched, "_I didn't say it wouldn't hurt some._" He stated glancing up at Kuhaku who'd also flinched. "_Hmm..."_ he chuckled, "_Raz, look at Haku's arm if you would."_ The dragon scowled when the shaman approached, Haku pulled his arm out from within his shirt, the fire highlighted the blackened flesh around his arm in the same place. Raz sucked in a breath through his teeth at the sight. _"A powerful god it seems, to have damaged your spirit energy as well. Hmmm..."_ Blink fell in silently again inspecting her injury again with the hand that had been below it.

His hand began glowing softly, the glow expanding as his hand drifted over her arm. When the glow touched her arm both she and Haku gasped, Haku went to his knees grabbing his arm as Chihiro's skin began to crackle from the touch. Blink frowned slightly while his energy seemed to spred on her skin but have no effect on it. He looked back at Haku, demanding to see his arm. The dragon scowled he seemed to be half between his human form and dragon form. His hands were becoming claws while he pulled his hand away from his arm. The damage was fading on his skin the fox shook his and muttered under his breath.

"_Heals the dragon and leaves the girl in pain."_ Blink shook his head, "_This god has a sense of humor."_

"You mean," Haku said between his teeth, "It's... not going to... go away for her?"

"He didn't say that." Raz said quickly, "Which ever god it was, planned to leave it's mark on her, the burns and all go but there will still be a mark on her." Raz stated, "It marked her as his in a way, but as its a death god, as we think, she's been marked as his target."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"_Don't be overly concerned."_ Blink tried to console the girl as she sat looking at the tattoo like band around her arm. _"It is only a mark, it does nothing to help the death spirit find you."_

It didn't help, Chihiro ran a hand over the black mark just above her elbow. It was a simple thin line half an inch thick around her arm coming to a open circle with what appeared to be a tiny skull at its center. "Why?" she asked rhetorically. At about that time light began to bleed across the horizon. "If it came in my sleep why didn't it do anything this morning?" Again it was retorical, but Blink thought other wise.

He returned to his fox form and shook like a wet dog, "_You were at a 'between' when you were sleeping before. The land of the dragon lords is between the human world and the spirit world; each gate is. When you first came you had to cross the river remember, the gate was apart from the bathhouse." _Blink then yawned,_ "You realize how often a god touches a mortal? You are most lucky."_

Chihiro snorted, "Don't feel lucky..."

"Haku." Raz called, the dragon looked away from Chihiro. "Give her another one." He tossed a bottle to the dragon who caught it.

The girl groaned, "Not again..." Haku opened the bottle and let one of the round white pills fall into his hand.

The shaman shrugged, "I'm not sure how long Haku's energy will hide you since his river's still hidden from him. Unless you want to try for another day without it and see if the death spirit won't find you." Chihiro shot a glare at Razmillian and stood.

"Alright, fine." She crossed her arms and waited for Haku.

The dragon chuckled and put the pill in his mouth and went to Chihiro, "You can't tell me that you don't mind it." He said around the thing in his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Chihiro scolded, she grabbed hold of the front of his shirt and put her mouth against his.

Before she could pull away after swallowing the drug, Haku grabbed the hold of her chin. He licked her upper lip before releasing her. Blood rushed up to Chihiro's face turning her entirely red. "Are you well?" He said with a chuckle. Chihiro smacked him before storming off into the trees. Blink looked from Haku and Raz, both standing in shock before turning off after Chihiro.

* * *

"Who does he think he is?" She ranted, "Sure I didn't really... mind it... but its just the way that he acts. Like I was his to kiss..." She was blushing again while she stormed around in the trees. She continued to walk then began to slow, she put one hand to her lips again, recalling the feel of his tongue. She groaned and put her hands back down at her sides in fists. "It wasn't much of a kiss anyways..." She groaned again and started walking.

_"If you didn't mind it why are you in such a hurry to run away?"_ Blink called after her, jumping over roots and fallen tree branches. "_As far as I could tell both of you were enjoying your moment together."_

She came to an abrupt stop and stamped her foot on the wet ground, "Leave me alone Blink, I want to rant in privacy!" She took two more steps and slipped, she eeped as she went down into muck and mire. She sighed angrily and sniffled back angry and upset tears, "Maybe I shouldn't of come back at all..."

Blink finally caught up to her and sat at her side silently. She glared at him more than once but he didn't move nor did he try to make any form of conversation.

It didn't take long for the sound of Raz and Haku calling for Chihiro to reach them, the human stubbornly stood and started walking again. Blink waited a moment before following. "Is there some reason you're coming with me?" Chihiro finally asked.

"_Of course, to keep you from wandering too near Shadow Grove."_

Chihiro skidded to a halt falling to her backside again. "Shadow... Grove? Sylph said..." she looked into the distance where the trees faded and everything turned to flat, desolate lands. "Death spirits are there."

Blink nodded, "_Spirits are stronger in their home lands, hope they are away at this time."_

Luck didn't seem to be on her side at the moment, she watched as the ground moved closer to them. Her eyes went wide and her heart jumped into her throat. "What's that?"

The fox growled and hissed, the most animal sound Chihiro had ever heard come from Blink. "_It is a dragon!"_

Chihiro slide back futher, "What kind of dragon is that!" Its body was thiner than any she'd seen; its head seemed to melt in the same fashion that the swamp water seemed to spread away from its clawed feet and hands. The end of its tail looked to be both spiked and spoungy at the same time, but at all times it was dangerous.

"_The kind of dragon that patrols the borders of Shadow Grove to keep out the unwanted."_ Blink stated, "_Back away before,"_

The before was cut off as the dragon turned its head toward them and let out an unearthly shriek that continued to grow in volume until Chihiro had to cover her ears while trying to slide away.

"Chihiro!" Raz yelled when they came into sight of her. "Duck!" Chihiro dropped to the ground as a silver form shot over them and slammed into the other dragon before it could reach Chihiro and Blink. Raz grabbed her arm while sliding and tried to get to his feet again, "We really don't want to be here right now.

Roars from both sides of this fight made Chihiro look back. The dragons were fighting, and it was Chihiro's fault. "We can't just leave him here to fight alone!"

"Trust me." Raz stated, looking at Blink who had grown into a much larger fox. He growled and ran toward the dragons as well. "He won't be."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I have just realized that I never put a disclaimer on here... Huh... I guess the world already knows that I don't own Spirited Away or any of it's characters, I do own this plot line and my original characters that are in here; Sylph, Razmillian, Blink, the death spirit -who still doesn't really have a name- and other various characters whose names I don't remember.**

**Also, thanks to all who have been reviewing my little fic. as well as to those who haven't reviewed but have read, I heart you all. ^-^**

**Now on to the next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 14

Raz dragged Chihiro along while she continually tried to look back where the roars, screeches, and explosions of magic echoed of the battle. "No!" She broke free from his grip and started running back.

"Chihiro!" The shaman quickly reversed his momentum and started after her, "There isn't anything you can do, your human!" He grabbed hold of her arm again. "Don't make me put a holding spell on you." He pulled her arm again. She went to hit him but he caught her before she could touch him. "Honestly, must you always resort to violence?" Raz sighed annoyed and pulled her back the direction they'd been running. "I told you there's nothing you can do."

Hot liquid hit against her cheek. Raz's eyes went wide and he cursed while she touched the liquid. Her fingers came away coated in blood. "What's going on?"

Raz began spouting what she assumed were curses in a different language and wiped the blood from her cheek, "That is the last time I ever, ever, _ever_, buy anything from that damned weasel!"

"Is this my blood?" She asked.

"Yes," He quickly wiped more from it, "It wasn't suppose to happen like that though, I'm never trusting that two faced rat again! He told me when he sold it to me there were no side effects other than having to take it more of less pending on strength." He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, "Not that it matters now," Raz started back towards the sounds of battle, "Just don't get hurt more than what Haku will, he'll kill me for one. For two, he's fighting a border dragon."

Chihiro didn't have to be told twice she started running, _What can I do to help a dragon fight another dragon? _Chihiro shook her head, she couldn't think about that, she had to try. "I can do it." She whispered.

Raz was about to call out to the human when he felt something pull past him and to Chihiro. Cursing he cast a shield but it too was pulled toward Chihiro before he could finish it. "--the hell?" He tried again, always running after her but the spells were pulled toward her before completion. "It... she... hell no." He yelled her name again. She looked over her shoulder at him he pulled a bow and quiver from his bag and threw them toward her, "He'd kill me if you weren't armed!"

Chihiro slid to a stop to catch them. There was a strange sensation under her skin; she ignored it while she looked at the bow and laughed to herself before running again. She'd always thought that the year of archery club would be useless in her life. Raz caught up to her and they both ran out into the open ground.

The border dragon's lower body was pinned under Haku's back claws, their upper claws were locked while they roared at each other and worked to keep the other from lower it's head and getting the upper hand through locking those jaws around their enemies throat. Blink was pulling himself back to his feet several feet away blood marked down his body where the tail's spines had hit. The fox turned his head when he caught sight of the girl and the shaman's return, Haku roared in the same moment Blink yelled, "_Raz! Get the girl out of here!"_

Chihiro smoothly took an arrow from the quiver and dropped the others to the ground and drew the bow back for one breath with the arrow resting in its cradle. "Please." She whispered to the arrow. As it left her fingers it flashed brightly, Chihiro blinked curiously as it flew straight at the tail that was swinging around to hit Haku in the side. It flashed again, like it had caught light in its shaft it drove deep into the dragon's skin.

The creature shrieked, louder that it should of for having a simple arrow buried in its tail; until the air around the arrow expanded cutting through flesh, sinew, and bone. Chihiro watched in shock as the magic broke through the border dragon's tail removing it from its body. Haku took advantage of the pain in his opponent and locked his jaws around the border dragon's jugular and held until the dragon's life blood and breathe stopped, the body went limp and Haku released. The dragon threw back its head and roared its victory; slowly it turned its gaze in all directions before returning to all fours and stalking toward Chihiro and Raz. Blink shook himself and lowered his head, becoming his smaller self and limped his way toward them.

Kuhaku shifted back into his human form as he walked and began yelling at Raz, "What in the names of the gods were you thinking bringing her back here?" The fox heartily agreed with the dragon, "What if she'd been hurt or worse, killed because of your actions? Everything we would of done to this point would have been useless!"

Chihiro was watching the boundary dragon, slowly it turned to dust and though there was no wind it blew away, she watched this for a moment longer before turning to Haku. Her hair hung loosely around her face. "I wanted to come back, I wanted to help. I don't want to be useless like I was the last time I came here!" She stated, "For another thing, I was hurt, because you were hurt." Haku watched her for a moment while she put the bow and quiver on her back. "I can help Haku, just because I'm not a spirit, or a shaman doesn't mean I can't defend myself."

Raz finally blurted out, "Kuhaku she absorbed it!"

The world suddenly tilted under Chihiro's feet, she stepped to try and compensate but stumbled and fell. Haku managed to catch her before she fell, "What's wrong with her shaman, why can't I sense her? What do you mean she absorbed it?"

The last words Chihiro heard were from Blink, "_Curious, before now I couldn't sense her without the shaman's help. I can feel her."_

* * *

**And a happy new year! My first chapter of the new year woot!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/n: Omg, chapter fifteen. I've never gotten a fic to be this long! Any whoo, the usual disclaimer, don't own Spirited Away unfortunately. But I do own this plot line and the oc's.**

* * *

Chapter 15

Haku gently stroked Chihiro's cheek, she hadn't woken since she'd dropped near the Shadow Grove border. He looked across at Raz who was still occupied with pulling what appeared to be quills from Blink's side. The fox continually hissed and sniped at the shaman. "Don't be such a big baby!"

"_Don't pull so hard!"_Blink retorted sourly. He looked over at Chihiro while she seemed to sleep peacefully in Haku's arms, "_She has an interesting energy to her..."_

Kuhaku frowned, "If you can sense her can the death spirit?"

"_It is quite possible. I believe that Chihiro is hiding herself though, she appears to be absorbing spirit energy from somewhere."_ He licked his paw then yowled as another quill came from his side. "_She will be fine until she wakes... I think."_

The dragon growled agitatedly, "What happened shaman?"

"I don't know... what I do know is that I tried to put three different protection magics on her and she absorbed them before I finished." He stated and yanked out another quill with another yowl and a curse from the fox. "Do you think Zaniba would know?" Blink continued to growl and glared up at Razmillian, "Don't look at me like that, there's only one more." Raz pulled this one out with a great deal of spite making the fox curse again; Blink jumped away from Raz and went over to Chihiro's side.

_"I wonder if she's dreaming."_

* * *

Chihiro.

Her eyes flickered open slightly but closed again.

Chihiro.

She opened her eyes and gazed up at the stars, she wasn't on the ground she quickly discovered, the water was wet, but that was it, it wasn't cold or warm it was just wet. She remained relaxed while floating on its surface, the stars were all foreign to her eyes, "I'm dreaming again." she said with a sigh, waiting for that evil voice to start talking to her again.

Chihiro.

She sat up, it hadn't been her imagination someone was calling her. The water supported her as she stood, "I'm here." she called, "Who's calling?"

We have been waiting for you. It's time to wake up.

"I didn't even want to be asleep right now! Why am I sleeping?"

Don't worry, when you wake, find the protection spell Zaniba gave you. You must find it Chihiro.

She blinked, "Protection spell?"

It's ancient magic, very powerful, find it. Mizuki has many ways to get what she wants. Find the protection spell!

Everything began to fade slowly, "Wait, wait, who's Mizuki, and what protection spell!" She yelled as the world faded to white.

* * *

Chihiro gasped and sat straight up, "Damn it! What is with things and contacting me in my dreams!" In a huff she didn't notice her position until she laid back down into Haku's arms. Blink simply shook his head and Raz smirked slightly. Haku cleared his throat, Chihiro looked up at him, "Oh don't give me that look I have to find that protection spell that I've misplaced." She tried to get to her feet but the world seemed to tilt again and she ended up crawling a few steps before vomiting. "Make it stop..."

Haku collected her up again, "What protection spell?"

She closed her eyes and shrugged, "The voice said Zaniba gave it to me, and it was ancient magic..." she groaned, "I hurt...I don't feel very good." She opened her eyes again, "Wait, if Granny was the one... My hairband!" She put a hand through her hair, "What happened to it?"

_"I believe it came out when you first slipped."_ Blink stated, "_I know where it was, I will look."_ The fox walked off into the trees.

"Where are we at?" Chihiro asked quietly.

"Where you slapped me."

Chihiro blushed, "Well you were... you are, acting really possessive of me, that's all and it annoyed me." Haku adjusted his hold on her, "It made me feel like..."

"You were being taken advantage of?" Haku offered, Chihiro looked up at him curiously. "Emotions are easier to feel through a connection of spirit energies, well when they are strong feelings." Chihiro had been glaring at him again. "It isn't something I can control Chihiro."

Raz watched them for a moment before getting up to help Blink in the search of the protection spell.

"Haku... why did you kiss me?"

He held her tightly, "Because I wanted to." Chihiro blinked, "Most of my life Chihiro I have had no will of my own, then you came and set me free. Of all the things I've done since I was given my name back none of it was what I really wanted to do, yes I've been looking for my river I haven't given up on that part of me, but I have missed you Chihiro."

She blushed fiercely and turned away as best as she could from looking at the dragon. Kuhaku sighed and turned her head back slowly. She looked at him curiously while he moved to kiss her lips gently. They gently brushed before someone cleared their throat. Haku sighed and turned to look up at Raz, he handed him the purple mud covered hair elastic.

"Sorry." Raz mumbled under the dark gaze from Haku.

He cleaned it off before sliding it onto Chihiro's wrist, "You should feel better shortly I guess." He moved away from her. Chihiro was blushing a bright red.

"What I don't understand is what's wrong." Raz stated.

There was a flutter of wind before Sylph made her appearance, _Sen Sen! Zaniba called for me, you call for spirits, spirits call for you! Magic magic everywhere calls for great depths, fill in where it once should of been._

Everyone blinked, "Speak again, in human terms please?" Raz stated.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_Zaniba say,_ the wind spirit began_. The Chihiro calls for this world, this world calls and searches for the Chihiro._

Chihiro was feeling much better while they sat and listened to the Sylph speak. Even though she was trying to listen to the spirit she could feel Haku and Raz's eyes on her. Blink was sitting in her lap watching the spirit contently.

Sylph as always couldn't stay in one place for too long it flitted from one branch to another. _Zaniba say protection not from injury, protection from magic; world calls her, and magic fills her._

"When..." Chihiro said, "When we first came here, standing outside the gate... the wind was pulling us in. Well I don't know if my parents felt it, but I could, it was like it wanted me to enter the spirit world."

_Yes yes! World seeks you, Zaniba not know why, but world seeks you. _Sylph took off and floated in the air. _Magic lives in this world, yes? Must have magic to stay here, to stay strong. But magic wants the Chihiro, wants to fill where the magic should be. _It settled on the ground in front of them. _The Chihiro calls, the magic answers the call._

Raz cleared his throat, "Alright one more time, try and talk like I've only been in the spirit world for a few months."

Kuhaku rolled his eyes, "Chihiro what happened with the arrow?"

"I said please, I wanted to help and it flashed and something about it was changed." Chihiro touched the band on her wrist then looked at Sylph. "Zaniba knew this was happening?"

The wind spirit shrugged her wings and darted back up into the tree, _Zaniba say world sick, the Chihiro can fix it. Not knowing how, but Zaniba say it possible that the Chihiro fix it all._

Chihiro turned to Raz, "What does she mean that the spirit world's sick?"

Razmillian bit his lip, "Well, Swamp Bottom and Shadow Grove use to be the only areas that were kind of, decaying. Swamp Bottom only recently has been getting worse. Inari has a good half of his messengers looking into that." He cleared his throat, "It's also been spreading to other areas; it could be why the train has been running off schedule; the tracks are protected, but the train isn't."

"You're saying that the world is getting old?" Chihiro asked surprised. "How can this world get old, it doesn't seem possible." She looked down at Blink who looked up at her, "And why have I been marked by death gods and spirits?" She sighed and scratched under Blink's chin, he gave a foxy smile and let his ears fall back, "Why are they talking to me in my dreams?"

"Zaniba said, according to Sylph, that Chihiro can fix the spirit world. If she were unable to do so the world would continue to decay expaning a death spirit or death god's area of control." Haku stated. "So I could understand why they would be trying to kill her. What I can't understand is how Zaniba knew about any of this, or that any of this would happen."

"_Zaniba is a powerful witch." _Blink stated moving away from Chihiro's scratching; as much as he enjoyed it he needed to concentrate. He was starting to like Chihiro, not that he would admit it. "_Divining a person's abilites is a rare gift but I am sure the witch would be able to discover it with something belonging to the person, or having their presence long enough."_

"I didn't even spent and entire day there..." Chihiro mumbled, "Why would she want to know about my destiny?"

"It isn't often that an ordinary human just wanders into the spirit world Chihiro." Kuhaku stated, "The ways keep themselves closed exept to who they diecide to let through. Dragon gate is guarded at all times by spells, most people who walk thorugh it at the right time only see that flash of sunlight." He shook his head, "You have been let through twice, both times it seems that the world was calling for you. I find it more than a little odd."

"Could what humans are doing make this world sick?"

There was a collective shrug, "Humans do effect this world, displace spirits, make more of us loose our way." Haku said, "Our actions can effect the other world too, it keeps it all in balance."

_Not as balanced as dragon is thinking. _Sylph stated, she flitted again and looked up and into the distance. _Must go, Zaniba calling, return maybe. _Sylph smiled and tilted her head to the side. _No worry Sen, all will be well. _With that the air spirit vanished.

* * *

They were walking again, Chihiro hadn't said a thing since they had started again.

Raz leaned toward the fox in human form. "You think she's alright?" He asked quietly.

_"She is thinking; it is a great deal of information for her to digest in one day_." Blink stated, "_Without that protection spell magic would answer to all her wishes and calls. I would not wish for that on anyone."_

"I would think that would be amazing." Raz said.

_"In order to work she would need a nearly unlimited supply of magic within her."_

Raz cringed, "Never mind, that would hurt, no human body has room for that much magic." He looked over at Blink, "Do you think Zaniba knows what she's talking about?"

_"I hope not. That would be a greater burden, the life of a world on her young shoulders._" Blink shook his head, the fox ears on top of his head darting in several directions; keeping a vigil to keep their charge from danger. "_Inari will wish for a report of all this. I will be leaving at dawn and return as soon as I can."_

"Aww, the fox likes her." Raz said laughing, Blink knocked him upside the head, "It's nothing to be ashamed of, I like her too." He watched her as she paused in the motion of rubbing the hairband. "I think she could do it."

"I don't doubt that she could," Haku said coming up between them, "The larger question is, how, and why her." He walked up to Chihiro, took hold of her hand and continued walking with her.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

When dark fell they made camp again. Chihiro had no desire to sleep, it generally meant something visiting her in her sleep. She set up her own archery range, torches around several trees of her choice and a few where she stood. She drew back on the bow holding the arrow level for a breath before releasing it. A moment later there was a satisfying thunk as the head sunk into one of the trees.

There was a burst of light from the arrow that she wasn't expecting. She flinched covering her eyes then looked to where the arrow was. It was gone. Chihiro cursed.

"That wasn't you." Raz stated. "The quiver's bespelled to call back the arrows." He came over to her side. "I got it from a wood spirit, he'd made it and the bow himself." He sat on one of the higher roots of the trees. He picked up the quiver and held it out, the arrows were all there again. "Don't get over exited."

She sighed and lowered the bow, "I don't know what to think right now Raz." She took the quiver from him and tied it to her waist. "Give me something else to think about shaman."

Raz watched as she fired another arrow, the light wasn't as bright this time as the arrow returned. "That's hard, the subject you want to avoid is the world, and not many other topics exist. Hmm..." He leaned back on the tree. "Time runs differently here than in the human world."

Another arrow sunk into another tree and returned, "I know that, I don't know how much of a difference. I have a guess, but I'm not sure..." she laughed, "It feels strange not having to go and collect the arrows."

"Where did you learn to shoot a bow? I learned here, the wood spirit said it would be a useful skill, arrows can have many different kinds of magic applied to them so it adds distance to short range attacks." Raz asked curiously.

Chihiro laughed again and went to sit next to him, "My parents commanded that I join a school club to try and get my mind off my day dreaming. So art was out as well as a few others, it was between kendo or archery in the end. They wouldn't let me in kendo because it was an all boys club, so I had to join archery for a year." She kicked her feet back and forth then looked to the shaman, "What's the time difference?"

He shrugged, "I don't know the exact exchanged, but its about a day here for a week or so." He sighed, "Chihiro, were they different or were they the same in your dream?"

She curled up putting her arms around her legs. Her opposite hand touched where the god had marked her. "They were different, the first was harsh, and it was a man. The second was soft, almost like butterfly wings, and a lady. They weren't anything alike." She shok her head, "I don't want to think about them..."

He bit his lip, looking rather like the child the rest of him appeared to be. "Chihiro..."

"Raz," Haku called, "Blink wants to talk to you. Says he wants us not to move until he returns."

"Returns?" Chihiro looked at the dragon curiously, "Where is Blink going?"

"_To report to Inari."_ Blink said simply, he was once more in the fox form, "_I will be gone for a day no more. If I'm not returned by then you are to leave."_

Raz got up and walked off with the fox, clearly there was more the fox wanted to say to the shaman. Haku came to sit at Chihiro's side, "Are you alright?"

She shrugged. They sat in silence for a moment before Chihiro spoke. "Haku, I don't want to have to save a world..."

He sighed and smiled, looking out into her makeshift archery range, "It isn't that simple Chihiro." She scooted closer to him. He slipped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, "It's possible that you were chosen to do this. Zaniba has been known to be wrong, she's getting on in age, people's minds begin to fail them you know."

"She's a powerful witch." Chihiro reminded, "You people also don't age like normal people." She sighed and leaned back into him, "She could be younger than you even."

Kuhaku smiled, "I doubt it, power isn't something learned, its gained over time." He kissed the back of her head, and removed the quiver of arrows from her waist and put it and the bow to the side. "You need to sleep Chihiro."

She shook her head, "I don't want to."

"Want or not, you need sleep human."

Chihiro humphed and slid away from him. "The weak human has gone without sleep before, I have gone through two days without sleeping while studying for a test." She stuck out her tongue rather childishly.

He leaned back on the tree root and looked her up and down. "I never said you were a weak human. Just human." Chihiro blushed and turned her back on him. Haku moved quickly and silently wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the ground, Chihiro eeped and tried to wriggle free as the dragon toted her back to where Raz was tending to a small fire. "Come Chihiro, you need sleep."

"Put me down you over grown lizard!" She yelled and squirmed trying to escape his grasp. "I don't want to sleep, sleep means dreams, dreams mean unwanted visitations!" She eeped again as he dropped her to the ground. She looked across at Raz whose shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter, "Cut it out twerp... He left your bow back there."

Raz chuckled and walked off to find his weapon and to put out the torches. Chihiro settled with pouting since Haku wasn't going to let her do what she wanted. Haku was still sitting behind her, she could feel his eyes boring into her back, she decided to try and not talk to him as long as possible.

As the silence dragged on Chihiro knew she was in a loosing battle. She sighed went over and grabbed the blanket they'd brought for her and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Happy?" she muttered and sat down again in front of the fire.

"No." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and slid up behind her, he ducked his head resting his forehead on her shoulder. "I seek your apology. Until you slapped me this morning I thought all of this had been a dream." He held her tighter.

"I'm still not sure that this isn't just a dream." She took hold of his wrists, "I keep waiting to wake up back in my bed and start crying."

Haku turned her in his arms and kissed her soundly, "It's not a dream, not anymore." Chihiro laughed at his statement and kissed him back.

Raz just kept walking around the camp waiting for a good time to come back and get some rest.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Haku woke with Chihiro still in his arms, he smiled and stroked her hair for a moment then kept his arms around her. It had taken more convincing than he cared to admit to get her to at most try to sleep. The final deciding factor had been his promise to teach her control over the magic she seemed to be displaying, her sleep wasn't as well as he'd hoped. He left her for a few hours while she had slept, pain had twinged at his arm and when he returned she was crying and clutching at her arm. He'd stayed with her and pulled her into his arms to let her sleep again.

The dragon now slowly pulled up the sleeve of her shirt the tattoo from the touch of a god had changed, it now had four circles one at each direction on her arm the three new ones without any skulls in them. Around the first circle was spines coming up along side the circle from the original line the spines following the curve of the circle. He sighed and went to lower her sleeve again; something else caught her attention. He turned her arms over and looked at the old scars on her wrists. He ran his fingers over these scars. "Chihiro...?"

Raz stretched and rubbed his eyes, he didn't really require sleep but a few hours rest always regenerated energy. He looked up into the slowly brightening trees, "Best wake her up, have to give her her morning medication." He watched Haku who seemed to have not heard him. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head and returned her arms to where they had been, "Wake up Chihiro." He slid away from her, she groaned and opened one eye.

"Stop moving, you don't make a good pillow when you move." She sighed and sat up. "Fine I'm up. What? I thought we weren't going anywhere today."

Raz grinned, "We're not, but that doesn't mean you can sleep the day away." He nodded toward the dragon. Haku put a pill into his mouth then leaned Chihiro's head back and put the pill into her mouth then kissed her again. Raz blushed when Chihiro smiled and gave the dragon another kiss. "Well do you have any... umm... plans for today?"

Chihiro smiled and jumped up, "Yep, Haku is going to help me control magic." She grabbed Kuhaku's hand and started toward the archery range. "See you later Raz."

Raz blinked curiously but shrugged, he had to get into contact with his master anyways, find out how his body was doing; and if Chihiro's parents had given up the search. He found himself a nice semi-flat rock, sat down, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Haku let her pull him for the short walk then changed the hold taking hold of her wrist. "Chihiro, I'm curious about..."

She turned to him and tilted her head to the side curiously. "About what?" He turned her wrist in his hand having the scars face up. "Oh..." She scratched the back of her neck with her free hand and gently took her other hand from him, "It was, um, a long time ago..." He gave her a skeptical look, "Alright it was the three years after I came back from here. The dreams just felt so real that I thought that reality was the dream and the dream was real. My parents put me in tharapy for a few weeks after that, I resorted to my own measures to make sure I was really awake." She ran her fingers slowly over the old cuts. "It wasn't that bad, no one noticed, it wasn't like I cut myself to forget other pain or anything. I just wanted to find what was real and what was a dream."

Haku gave a nod that wasn't complete understanding but there was a kind of sympathy attached to it. "Why haven't you tried that here?"

Chihiro smirked, "I already told you, here was always my reality. There was the dream." He chuckled and took her wrists in her hands and kissed them both. She blushed, "That and Raz, Blink and a few others have never been in any of the dreams I've ever had." She thought about it, "And I never remember having been hurt and actually feeling it in a dream."

Kuhaku laughed and kissed her wrists again, making her blush further. "Come, I promised to help you." He waved a hand and the bow and quiver she'd been using appeared in that hand, Chihiro waited to hear the yells from Raz, but they never came. She shrugged guessing he was too busy to notice. The dragon handed them to her. "Try and do what you did yesterday again."

Chihiro blinked and looked at the hair band on her wrist, "You want me to take this off?"

He shook his head and sighed rather annoyed. "Just try to repeat what you did yesterday with the arrow."

Chihiro shrugged, she closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and in the same moment she opened her eyes drew the arrow from the quiver, and slid it into place. "Please..." she whispered much as she had before, and released.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, to all those who read most devoutly, or even just peruse through my story I hope you're really enjoying it, because I am.**

**Anyways, the reason I'm writing is school is starting back up for me, this will in turn effect the frequency of my updates. I'll try to update as often as I can manage, but school work will be worked on first then my fic.**

**Nextly, I find myself in need of a beta... clearly I'm not as good as I think I am at editing as I go. So, since I can't catch all my errors --and who can really-- I is looking for one. ^-^ Just send me a message and I'll be looking at it.**

**P.S. Don't hate me for leaving the chapter like this I'm doing it on purpose, I want people to read it!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Well I'm amazed with myself, the next chapter is 20. woot! thought I should throw in a few replies to reviews that I've gotten for the last chapter or so.**

**Tigeresssa: Yes she did, and I'm glad that you think my way of portraying Haku is cute. ^-^ I think he's pretty sweet too.**

**mjjm23: ^-^ I'm glad that you review so much, it makes me feel great that I got you, I have dragged you into my madness. Bwahahahahaha! I'll keep writing of course.**

* * *

Chapter 19

The arrow vanished as it left the bow.

The two both blinked in pure confusion. She turned to Haku to speak, but didn't get the chance. The trees and other surrounding landscape seemed to bubble and bulge before tearing open. Haku called out, tried to grab Chihiro, and pull her toward him, but she was pulled into the tear. "Haku!" She screamed. She reached toward him. The world turned black.

* * *

Chihiro groaned and rubbed the back of her head. As she sat up slowly and looked around, she realized she couldn't see anything. Panic rose in her stomach. Her first thought was that she'd gone blind. Once her eyes began adjusting, she let herself calm back down. "Haku?" She got to her feet, having switched from rubbing her head to her back. "Where are you?" she called again. No reply. "Ugh... he's gonna be pissed..."

With that, she started walking, occasionally calling for Haku. In the midst of calling Haku's name for the she'd forgotten how many times, she heard something. It sounded like a child sniffling and sobbing softly. "Hello?" She started walking toward the source of the sound. It didn't take long, even in the darkness, to see a small boy huddled next to the the stone wall. Stalagmites were dripped all around it. "Are you alright?" She went toward him slowly. "Are you lost?"

He sniffled, looking toward her from the corner of his eye. "I... I can't find my mom..." he said with a sob. He wrapped his arms tighter around his little legs. "I can't remember where she told me to meet her."

Chihiro walked closer to him, "Would you like me to help you find her?"

The boy sniffled and nodded. "Yes. I'm Urru."

She reached toward him, "I'm Ch-" A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist before she could touch the boy.

Haku threw her behind him and roared at the boy. He turned to face him, parts of his body burnt to an angry red. It hissed and slowly backed away, it's body contorted, its arms becoming longer, its hands becoming wicked claws. Its hair became a mane down it's spine. "_Give girl! Give girl!"_ It hissed over and over again. The dragon growled and roared even louder at the creature.

Chihiro had slid back several feet when she saw it transform. "Don't move another inch!" Haku ordered, not even turning to look at her. "The girl is _mine_." He growled in the back of his throat. "Find your next meal somewhere else." He bared his sharp dragon teeth at the creature, "Your last chance. Leave. Now."

What had once been a little boy flicked its serpent like tongue out from behind rows of sharp teeth. "_Find food elsewhere_." It grumbled, and slowly turned and took off at a run, with its knuckles dragging on the ground.

Chihiro decided she could start breathing again. "How did you find me?"

"What were you aiming for?" He growled.

"Aiming?"

"When you shot the arrow what were you aiming for?" He almost yelled. "You never fire magic without having a target, the effects are uncontrollable!" Chihiro flinched and went to slide back further. "I told you not to move!"

"Stop yelling at me Haku!" She yelled back, frightened. "You didn't tell me anything like that, it isn't my fault! And I was aiming at that stupid tree!"

Kohaku growled once more before dropping down to her side, "I apologise. Magic is a very tricky business. I tried to teach you before I showed you its rules." He touched her cheek. It was wet. "Are you crying?"

She sniffled. "No." She took up the position that the creature had been in moments before and started crying in earnest. Haku apologised again and again. He lifted her up onto her feet and held her against him. "Just... where are we?" she said.

The dragon sighed. "You tore a gate." he stated. "This is one of the higher levels of hell." At those words her head popped up and she gripped the front of his hakama. "Don't worry, and please don't start crying again." He grabbed her hands, "You have to listen to every word that I say while we're here, understand?" She nodded and took her hands from his. "Promise?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yes, I promise."

"Don't touch anyone. Don't speak your true name or mine, just like in the spirit world, here names have power-" Haku began but Chihiro interrupted.

"Wait, how did you get here, and how are we getting out?"

Haku smiled slightly and laughed. "The gate you tore is still open. I went through it. You moved so I had to come and find you. As for getting back, we have to go back through your gate. Then you have to close it."

She blinked, "How do I close something that I don't know how I opened?"

Haku sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You're going to have to take off your protection spell and use more magic than even Seriyu has. Unfortunately."

"So... that means anyone can make a tear, but only the most powerful can close them?"

"Generally, if a spirit opens a hole, they don't find their way out and become demons." Haku stated. "That was what you saw before, a spirit corrupted by this place; one of the gods will eventually close the rips."

Chihiro's eyes went wide. "What if they close it before we leave?" She grabbed his hand and started walking in a different direction.

Haku stayed in place and pulled her toward him again, "Your gate is that way." He intertwined his fingers with hers and went the direction he had motioned. "They won't. A death god may try but other gods will keep it open. You are important to some grand design of theirs." She squeezed his hand, and he looked over at her. She was looking at the ground, taking the hint he changed the subject. "Something else, for both here, and above. Never accept gifts from spirits of any kind; there are always hidden parts in any gift." He lifted her wrist with the hair band. "Take this for example."

She sighed and felt a breeze from ahead. She looked up to see a bubbling in the air above them. "Is that it?" she said.

Haku looked up and nodded. "We'll have to cross it's gap before we reach Raz and the spirit world again."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Well... I'm so proud of myself, I've never seen a fic or anything else I've written for that matter as far as this one is gotten. I'm hoping to get the motivation to get other stuff done too...**

***random applause for self***

* * *

Chapter 20

It sniffed the air and crouched around the corner from where stood two creatures. One a human by scent, but a dragon by sense. The other a river spirit. But to It, they didn't matter. Above them lay his escape. Mistress waits long for rips, must apologise to mistress for being late from her summons. It glanced around the corner again with its beady red eyes. Too far, too high, must change. No, draws attention, must find way up and up and up.

It flicked its eyes down and around its surroundings. Even for one such as itself, there were many threats waiting to feed on the unsuspecting. It turned its attention back to the human and the spirit. How they get up and up? It wondered, until the spirit spoke.

"Make sure to hold on tight, I have never crossed one of these myself." The spirit was suddenly a dragon. The rat looking creature nearly squeaked in surprise, but held back the sound.

The human climbed onto his back. "Well you don't get to say that anymore, do you?" The dragon chuckled. It watched for a moment as the dragon coiled itself, his muscles tensing as the spirit readied to jump. The rat creature scurried across and grabbed hold of the fluff on the dragon's tail just at the moment the spirit jumped into the tear. It waited until they were a few moments into the gap before releasing.

Out, must find the way out. It sniffed the surrounding darkness. It wouldn't know what the two who were quickly vanishing from his sight would be seeing, but it was all darkness around him. Opening smell like freedom, and fresh air. It's eyes flickered around the darkness, now on its own, it walked silently. It's mind continually repeating, up and up and up, must go up. A shiver ran down its body and it looked again. No follow, must out, mistress waits far too long already. Gate close, gate close behind me. No following.

The rodent skittered all the faster. Girl try, she try to close. Hurry,must hurry, mistress waits too long already. It found a flickering light and jumped for it.

The grass was a new feeling under its feet. It was a old feeling that its mind had long missed. He looked up at the human. She stood with the dragon behind her. It skittered out from under their feet. Not that they noticed it, they were too busy trying to close the tear. Foolish spirit, foolish human, closing something they can't close. It went off into the trees, but paused only when lights blasted through the trees. They did what gods only do? The rat skittered back and saw the human collapse to the ground. The dragon slid a purple band onto her wrist again, it watched curiously while the spirit collected the unconscious form and called for another. Mistress will want to know... must go faster...

The creature's skin began to bubble and reform. Wings, feathers, beak, claws. It cawed and took to the sky. Must fly faster. Mistress waits far too long.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The stores no longer stood open. The lights weren't on. No smoke came from the boiler room chimneys. The entire small community had turned into a ghost town. Sitting on the lantern outside the bathhouse was the death spirit. A scythe held in her hands, one flesh and the other had returned to bones. It's fingers clicked against the metal staff of the weapon, her hood pulled up over her entirely skeletal face. Her eyes glowed red in the open sockets. She would have to return to Shadow grove soon, calling on her master for strength took a great deal of power, and the bathhouse waters could only rejuvenate a death spirit so much before it had no effect.

The flickering of wings and caw of a crow caught her attention. Her eyes raised slowly from her gaze over the city. "You took your time."

"No holes!" It cawed.

She shook her head, "Honestly, give youself a bit of pride. Take a more natural shape." She tapped the end of the scythe against the ground a small ripple of energy went out on the ground.

Its skin bubbled for a moment, the wings vanished, strands of skin wrapped around the feathers taking them from its flesh. It took a almost human looking form, its spine cracked as it stood. "Apology mistress, all ways from hell were sealed. A human formed a gap." His eyes were red with slits for pupils. "Without saying, I believe your target is coming to you."

She gave a boney grin, "Truly?" She tilted her head to the side, "Well then, I have work for you Doppleganger."

It smirked, "And what is in it for me?"

In a moment's step the scythe was around behind its neck. "You can keep your life." She said with a dark glimmer in her eye.

The demon swallowed. "What is your will mistress?" She laughed and pulled the once spirit closer to her and whispered into what was supposedly its ear.

High above in her office Yubaba scowled down, she picked up the skull phone. "Foremen?" It took a moment."Formen!"

"Yes madam?" came the whispered reply.

"Why are you whispering? This is my business. No one will put me out of business, not for the sake of a human!" She sneered. "I need to send a message to my sister immediately, where is my bird!"

"You sent her already madam, Yu-bird went in search of Sen, don't you remember?" The formen stated. "You wanted to find her so you could get the death spirit out of here as soon as possible."

Yubaba sneered, "She can't be that hard to find." She growled and hrumphed. "Very well, find the swiftest flier we have; that death spirit is planning something with demons."

There was a general commotion on the other end of the line. "Did you say demons?" There was more noise.

Yubaba sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Its impossible to find useful help." She sighed, "As much as I hate my sister, it seemed like a wise idea to send him there. I don't know where that wretch is planning, but this does not bode well."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Here are your shout outs to my reviewers, AND, the disclaimer, I don't own any of the characters that are afiliated with Spirited Away, but the original characters are mine. ^-^**

**Larkabel: *maniacal laughter* I've been told that before about my writing, that it hooks people, but never about a fanfic. ^-^ I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad I got a beta too.**

**mjjm23: And here's another for you. lol. Don't worry I've never lost sight of my main subject, the death spirit is always lingering in this story, you may not see her, but I do. You'll get to see that too in later chapters. hee hee hee. --PS. I have no idea. I have a feeling it will end when it ends. May even end it somewhere in there and then make a sequel.**

**Everilde Vernamis: Here it is continued! lol**

* * *

Chapter 21

Chihiro was still amazed at what had happened in the past few hours. They had had to make due with what they had. Her lower arms and hands were wrapped in white bandages, her entire body still ached and part of her still wondered if it hadn't been Haku who'd closed the rip.

Blink had come back some time while she had been unconscious. He was still arguing with Haku over having tried something of that magnitude, as well as getting her so clearly damaged.

* * *

--Flashback--

Shadows darted across the edge of her vision. She turned her head to try and see what it was, but it was gone. Chihiro held all the tighter onto Haku, fear dropping into the bottom of her stomach. It looked like they weren't alone. It wasn't completely black around them, but it kept her from seeing what was surrounding them. Without having said anything, the dragon twisted and moved away from where these shadows seemed thickest.

As Chihiro's eyes adjusted to the dimmness she could see more shadows. These ones had very long hands that reached toward them. Haku growled and flew in erratic patterns, trying to avoid these long, and apparently sharp, fingers. Chihiro whimpered and tried to keep moving with Haku but he was making it difficult. A hand swiped past her, the fingers brushing against her arm. Where Haku had expected her to scream, it was the shadow that did. Its fingers crumbled into ash, and the rest of it followed.

Almost as if enraged by this the shadows began attacking in greater numbers. Slashes appeared on Haku's skin. Moments later, in the same places, they appeared on Chihiro. They were cold and had an almost numbing effect on the skin surrounding them. The dragon roared and Chihiro worked all the harder to hold onto the dragon's horns. "Please don't let go, don't let go, please don't let go." she wimpered. Any of the shadows that struck Chihiro directly would crumble into ash.

She shuddered. "Hang on Haku, it can't be much longer." she whispered. He rumbled and worked to avoid all the shadows as possible. Chihiro looked forward as they broke through a bright light.

Haku slammed into the closest tree, his nails digging into the trunks while panting. He slowly lowered to the ground, letting Chihiro get off. He groaned as he shifted back. "Are you alright?" He grabbed his side staunching the blood flow with a bit of quick magic.

She nodded. "What about you?" She was rubbing her side trying to get feeling back into it; her hands were almost immediately coated in her own blood.

He nodded then looked at the hole. "Give me the band." Chihiro slid the purple elastic off her wrist and tossed it to Haku. He tucked it inside his shirt and stood behind her. "Put a hand on either side of the rip and let magic flow into you, making sure to give it direction."

The human swallowed nervously and put her hands out beside the tear. She thought her hands would simply pass by it, but it had a solid form to its surroundings. She closed her eyes and could feel a tingle running under her hands. "I don't know what to do."

Haku's put his hands on hers. "I'll help you," he whispered in her ear, "Stay calm, and trust me." She took a deep breat, and nodded.

The tingling went down from her hands; another sensation beginning at the base of her spine and at her feet. "I need you to help me." she whispered into the air. She felt a bit strange talking to something she couldn't see, and she closed her eyes even tighter. "This isn't something that should exist. We need to close this. It's hurting the world. Please." The two feelings connected somewhere within her and became another sensation, almost like the beating of a heart. She cringed. "Haku..."

"Give it a purpose." He said softly.

She cringed at each beat of this foreign heart. She opened her eyes and gazed down the rip. "That... it needs to be fixed." She whispered. The flow of energy went up into her chest and from there slammed up her arms. She cried out in pain, her hands curled in slightly. Haku forced them to flatten. Magic came from her fingers, weaving together into a thick substance, almost fabric. It began to wiggle across the surface, reaching into the rip and beginning to stitch it closed. Her arms started shaking in pain; her muscles felt they were on fire. "I can't..."

The magic pulled the tear closed and the solid surface vanished. Chihiro collapsed. She tried to speak to Haku as he slid the hair band back onto her wrist. Her voice didn't want to come out as he picked her up and started yelling for Raz.

* * *

Blink shook his head while unwrapping her arms and Haku explained that they would have to move before anything came looking for that power surge. "_Not until I fix her arms_."

"It's alright Blink." Chihiro stated, "They don't hurt." She thought that was the strangest part of it. She was going to have to change her clothes, and these ones were going to have to be washed and repaired. She looked at the mark on her arm. It hadn't changed again. Of that, she was greatful.

"_Of course they don't_," He sniped. "_The venom from the shadow in the wounds on Haku is affecting your ability to feel pain_." He got down the last of the wrappings.

Her arms were covered in massive black bruises; her hands constantly shaking and her fingers refusing to lay flat. The messenger shook his head. "Why didn't this happen to Haku too?"

He sighed, "_You used all of his energy,seeing as you did it all by yourself_." He slowly rolled her arm. She cringed and flinched as he moved them. "_My suggestion is lots and lots of healing, and not doing anything like that ever again_." It looked like Blink did have a sense of humor, somewhere.

She smiled, "That I can do." He nodded and began the process of healing her arms. "Um, can we do this and move too?"

"_Ride on my back, I will heal you while we go_." He stopped the magic and shifted into his giant fox form and lowered his head, "Climb on, young one."

Chihiro climbed on, "Wait what about Raz?" She looked around curiously for any signs of the white haired shaman.

"He'll find us," Haku stated, "He went to see his master and his body."

"_He will find me_," Blink stated and took off at a run, "_He and I have a connection formed by Inari until this mission is complete_." He gave a foxy smile. "_You are kind to worry for his safety_."

Chihiro smiled and nodded as she laid down on his back and almost immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Raz opened his eyes for the first time in as far as he knew, years. He groaned and put a hand on his head. "I'm starving."

"I'd expect nothing less."

He sat up and bowed to his master. "I don't have much time, I have to return to the others soon."

"I know, but you need a little more assistance than what you have." His master stated. "But not Zaniba, she has too much heart involved in this fight."

Raz bit his lip, "Then who?"

The master smiled. "I know just the spirit; but it will cost us." Raz already didn't like the sound of that.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I don't own Spirited Away or its characters, but yes! The original characters and this plot line are mine.**

**Twilight Journey: Thanks, I'm updating as often as I can, well, that's after my beta gets to look at them. ^-^**

**mjjm23: Yep, that's what I would call it Chihiro's crew, you know until I have a better name for it. lol. Yep, within the next few chapters their plan--or lack there of-- will be discussed... I hope.**

**Larkabel: If I told you if Chihiro get's caught then I'd ruin the story, lol. As for Raz, he's just doing what he was told to do so *shruggs* he's only an apprentice so he has to do as he's told.**

* * *

Chapter 22

Haku had gone off by himself when Chihiro woke in the black of night. Across the fire, Blink sat in his human form, appearing to be deep in meditation. She slowly moved to sit up. "_I'd stay still if I were you_." She looked over to him; he had a single dark eye open looking at her.

"How long have I been..."

"_A day_." Blink replied before she could finish the question, "_I have used most of my spirit energy to heal you, and I need rest_." He shook his head. "_I didn't even finish healing all the bruises, and you had lots of internal damage_." He closed his eyes and returned to his meditative position. "_If you attempt anything like that again, I will not feel sorry for you, and I will not heal you_."

Chihiro pulled up one of her sleeves to look at the yellowing bruises. She sighed and returned to laying on her back. "I was really that bad?"

"Had we not gotten you healed as soon as we did, you would be gone." Haku said as he walked back from the deep trees, "We're about another day's walk from the bathhouse."

"Really?" she asked. Haku nodded.

"_We didn't have time to pause and hide your spirit energy_." Blink continued as if they hadn't interrupted him, "_Either Kohaku is more powerful than we previously thought, or the death spirit's attention has been taken to something else_." He opened his eyes and looked from the human to the dragon. "It wouldn't bode well if it was the second."

She sat up slightly. "Has Raz not come back yet?" They both shook their heads, she thought about it for a moment then spoke again, "But if she's not looking for me, isn't that good?"

Haku sat down next to her. "Not if it's looking for a stronger ally." He stroked her hair softly. "It means that the danger is growing for you. It's not the best time for you to be weak."

"I feel fine."

_"Feeling and being are entirely different things."_ Blink stated. He stood and turned to look into the trees. "_Someone approaches_." He picked up the bow Chihiro had been using and drew back an arrow. "_I do not recognize this being."_

Haku put himself between the approaching person and herself. Chihiro sat up while he took a defensive stance. The bushes began to thrash; they split as a shape entered.

Her face was wrapped in a blue cloth, one stunningly blue eye visible. There were tattoos running down her arms and over the one eye,. She wore large baggy pants, a camisole, and another scarf around her neck, all of these being blue. Her feet were bare, with bindings up her ankles and her wrists. Her eye shifted from one spirit to another. It narrowed and blue energy began to serge up from her feet to entirely cover her body. Blink drew back on the bow, and Haku moved to attack.

"No, no, no!" Raz came out from several feet away and jumped between the three of them. "Friends Niruu, friends." He soothed, "Lower the bow Blink, she's a little... volitile at the moment." He smiled up at the one he called Niruu. She was a good deal taller than him, though for some reason, Raz looked taller than when he had left. "It's alright, this is Blink." he said, pointing toward the bow weilding spirt, then pointed to the other in turn. "This is Haku, and that is Sen. You remember? Sen's the reason you're here."

Slowly, the azure energy laid back down on her skin. Her eyes darted to each of them. She stalked off into the darkness again. Raz finally let out a sigh of relief. He ran a hand through his white hair and turned back to the others, smiling at them proudly.

"Who the gods is that?" Haku asked. Chihiro was still trying to keep her eyes on the form that was pacing around the camp.

"That, well, um, she's, a... ah," He scratched the back of his neck. "Niruu is a demon." Blink drew back the bow and aimed, Raz immediately took the weapon from his hands. "Stop it! She's not a danger, we paid for her." Haku demanded more of an explination.

While Raz began talking to the dragon, Chihiro turned to Blink and spoke softly, "He didn't give her our true names, but he gave her yours, is Blink not your real name?"

The fox smiled, "_No, Blink is only the name I use_." He walked over to her and sat at her side speaking softly, "_Do not use our real names while this demon is present, paid or not after the task is completed she could use them against us_." They turned their attention back to Raz.

"My master trusts her, and she wasn't always a demon. The last time he called on her, she was a dragon spirit like you." He continued, "She's gotten half her payment, the other half she gets when the death spirit is gone. We're not working on a time table with her at least." Raz ran his hands through his hair again. "If she was still a spirit, it wouldn't be costing so much."

Chihiro looked up at him from the place she sat. "What are you paying her with, gold?"

"Niruu has no use for gold." Came a gravely but feminine voice from behind the scarf. Niruu continued to pace the area, almost as if she couldn't hold still.

Raz cleared his throat. "Memories." They all looked back at him, shocked, and he shrugged helplessly. "Master gave her a year's worth of painful memories. Afterwards, I have to give her a year of the other kind of memories."

Chihiro turned back to look at Niruu; she'd finally settled into a place. The ends of the scarves seemed to twitch of their own free will. "Is that always the payment to have a demon work for you?"

The stunning blue eye turned to her. "Niruu is not like other demons. Niruu is bound to help Craesh and Raz as long as Niruu's life is mine." She looked back forward into the fire, "Fox is weak, needs sleep. Niruu doesn't need sleep."

Blink looked from one face to the other of the shaman, the spirit, and the demon. "_We are a strange group to protect a human_." he said, smiling. He became his small fox form and curled up. In moments time, he was sleeping soundly beside Chihiro.

The girl rubbed the back of his head, and turned to Haku. "Why does Blink have three forms, and also," she turned to Raz, "Who's Craesh?"

Haku sat next to her and pulled her closer to him. She complied and laid her head on his shoulder. "Blink only has two forms, the human form and the larger fox. This shape, is just a sealed shape. Inari demands it done to all his messangers when they are in the spirit world." They both turned their attention to Raz.

He flinched slightly. "My turn?" He sighed. "Craesh is my master, he taught me all I know, and is watching my body. Which, by the way, has grown a few inches in my absence." He avoided eye contact with Chihiro as he spoke the next part, "Your parents have given up looking for you... you've been gone for around a month and a half."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I don't own Spirited Away or its characters, but yes! The original characters and this plot line are mine. OMG! I've hit 1000+ hits on my stories. I will bring cake and cookies!!! *brings out platters of nummies and milk***

**walks-with-nose-in-book: I can totally understand your excuse. I've had two computers crash on me ^-^. lol, I know you'll try to be faster, but I can live with how long it takes you... AND it really all depends on how fast I finish chapters. ^-^ I'm glad you always come back to read again.**

* * *

Chapter 23

Chihiro both felt upset and relieved that her parents had stopped looking for her. They were walking again; Blink sleeping on the bag on Chihiro's arm. Niruu was walking ahead with Raz and Haku at her side. "Do you think they thought I was dead?" she asked Haku.

"It's possible," Haku replied, squeezing the hand that was in his. "I'm sure they looked as hard as they could." he smiled, "You were just hidden better than they could look."

Chihiro smiled, "Yeah... I hope they aren't upset or anything." Blink let out a loud snore from his bag. Chihiro laughed quietly. She smiled down at him and rubbed his head. "I wish I could tell them that I'm alright."

Haku looked at her thoughtfully, "Actually, there is a way." He released her hand and walked up to Raz. After a few moments and a bit of heated debate between the two of them, with Niruu watching almost curiously, her blue eye blinking while watching their argument. The two boys soon came back. "There is a way."

"And personally, I don't think you should try it." Razmillian stated, "You said you feel fine, but that doesn't mean that you are. Like Blink said, its not how you feel, but how you are." He crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'm not going to agree to this."

"To what?"

Raz shook his head, refusing to even offer it.

The dragon nearly rolled his eyes, "What I am suggesting is to project a message into your parent's dreams that you are protected; That they do not need to worry about you anymore." Haku looked to Raz again, "Not that she should astral project to the human world."

Raz shook his head again. "Both ways are dangerous. You're crossing between the worlds while also being connected to both of them. Being hunted is the biggest problem with going across the worlds. It will leave you, your guide there and back, and the grounding spirit at risk. It leaves you completely exposed, and it's... it's like putting out one of those neon signs saying 'I'm Here!!' for every spirit that is looking for you." He looked over at Niruu, "And... Niruu thinks she sensed another demon."

Haku almost glared at Raz. "When were you planning to tell us that?"

He took a step away from the clearly annoyed dragon. He held up his hands in submission. "She said thinks, the sensation of the foreign energy wasn't new, maybe a few days, or a few years old." He retreated again when Kohaku approached. "Demon energy is alien to the spirit world, so it ages differently depending on the demon."

"What's the difference between them?" Chihiro asked, interested.

Raz opened his mouth to speak, but clearly he was going to say something other than the answer to the question she asked. "Huh?"

"How are demons different than spirits?"

"Niruu was once spirit." Niruu said. She put a hand over the eye that was covered. "Was once most beautiful rain dragon. Another spirit was jealous... paid great price, many years of life and life of 'nother to have Niruu taken to Dark Worlds." She quickly whispered. She muttered many words that they couldn't understand before she spoke again, "Had to grow stronger to live. Niruu had made promise, had to fufill it." She shook her head, "Niruu still can't remember promise, what it was, or who it was to. Niruu has to keep it anyways." She turned to Chihiro, "Spirits take two forms, a demon trapped in one form. Spirit has magic, hidden in their world. Demon has energy, visible here, like pressure in Dark Worlds." She held out a hand. Chihiro could see the azure energy flowing around her hand. "Spirit has no power in Dark Worlds; must change or be killed."

Raz's jaw nearly dropped. "You mean it either changes or dies?"

Niruu nodded. "Change or die." She started walking again, "One demon most dangerous, doppelganger. Be anything, anyone. Doppelganger is born demon, it never spirit." She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "It is offspring of demon and human." She continued walking through the shrubs.

They stood in silence for a moment, brooding over what she had said. "The demon that you could sense...?" Raz finally asked.

"Is there." She tilted her chin over the decline of ground. The other three joined her.

Down below, in what appeared to be a shadow of heavy clouds, was the bath house and the restaurants. It lacked all the luster Chihiro had last seen. She stood next to Niruu, with Raz behind the demon, and Haku behind Chihiro.

"Must hide Sen better if we are to travel past this place." Niruu stated. Before the others could suggest a better idea, Niruu took hold of Chihiro's shoulder with one hand and pulled the scarf wrapped around around her face down, revealing her second eye. It was entirely blood red, no pupil, no white. Perfectly, deeply, crimson. Chihiro's knees gave suddenly, all feeling seemed to escape her body.

She could hear them calling her psudo-name, but after a moment it all slowly returned to her. Dhe groaned and rubbed her eyes then her head.

"What in hell's name did you do!" Haku was looking at her while he yelled.

"Don't panic, look she's fine." Raz stated he slowly lifted someone to their feet. Chihiro blinked.

"Best way to hide," she said, "In plain sight."

Haku immediately looked toward Chihiro's body, then back to the eyes that Chihiro was looking out of then back to the body. "What did you do!"

"Haku?" Chihiro ventured. It wasn't her voice coming from her mouth. Chihiro looked down at her hands they had black markings on her already dark skin. "What's going on?"

"Sen's magic is hidden under demon skin." Her body said. "Niruu's energy will disguise Sen's body while we travel past Bathhouse."

"How long will this last?" Chihiro asked, beginning to become slightly worried.

Niruu, in Chihiro's body, came over and pulled the scarf over her own right eye. "Worry not, Niruu will reverse when we are safely beyond Bathhouse."

Haku took hold of Chihiro's arm. "You said demon's don't have magic. Spirit's have magic, demon's have energy."

Niruu pulled his hand off her body and made him look at the Chihiro body. "Demon energy has many possibilites; spirit magic is limited to learning, energy does as it is told. Come now, we walk, sooner past the baths sooner you are less confused."  


* * *

It was hard to walk in a straight line seeing out only one eye. She occationally would stumble, and Raz would help her stay on her feet. "I'm not use to being this tall." she mumbled.

"I'm sorry Sen," Raz said with a sigh, "I didn't know she could do this before; and I didn't think about having to hide you any better... I'm really sorry."

She laughed; it was a sound that didn't suit the voice that it came with. "I don't blame you Raz. Let's just try to get this over with as fast as possible, okay?" A thought struck her suddenly. "What if they know what I look like? Won't Niruu be in danger?" She watched her body walking several steps ahead of them with Haku a few feet behind her. "Shouldn't you make my body, I dunno, look less like me?"

It was Raz's turn to laugh. "I'm sure she has her ways to make people see her as what she wants to be seen. I mean, she swiched bodies with you... What does it feel like?"

She shrugged. "I still feel like me on the inside, its just the outside that isn't me." She looked over at Raz meaningfully, "When this is over would you let me contact my parents?" Raz opened his mouth to reply but was inturrupted.

"Hurry please! This is confusing enough as it is!" Haku almost pouted.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I don't own Spirited Away or its characters, but yes! The original characters and this plot line are mine.**

**Sorry that I didn't update sooner! School has finally set in full blast and it makes it harder to write chapters every day.**

**Well, believe it or not this one is getting close to the end, what will I do with myself when it all comes to a close??? Write a sequal? Maaaaayyyybe.**

* * *

Chapter 24

It was getting dark much too fast for Haku's liking. They were almost directly outside the bath house, and none of them had any desire to stay the night this close to the enemy; however, they had a larger problem to worry about.

"You ate all of it?" Raz cried at Niruu. She sat --in Chihiro's body-- finishing off the last of their food.

She shrugged, "Niruu has not had the need to eat in generations." She looked at the clinging crumbs on her fingers and started licking them off one by one. "Is this a problem?" she inquired.

"A problem?!" Chihiro shouted at herself, "Spirits don't have to eat that often, but humans do!" She shook Niruu's head, "You're going to make my body fat..." she grumbled. Chihiro sighed and looked to Haku, "Are you sure we don't have anymore?"

The dragon shook his head, "No, there isn't anything left. It looks like we're going to have to go into town." He looked down toward the bathhouse. "Raz, stay with Chihiro, Niruu, come with me."

The two in their opposing bodies looked from one to the other, then toward the retreating dragon. He obviousy wasn't in the mood to try and explain, so Chihiro sighed and sat down while she watched her body take a cloak from Raz and run after Haku's retreating shape.

Chihiro and Raz were quiet for a few moments before the conversation started. Topics wandered from the real world, to the spirit world, and demons, to shamans ways. "What did Niruu mean, that the demon body would hide my magic? I have magic?"

"Of course," Raz stated, "You must have some magic in you in order to stay in the spirit world." He leaned back against a rock and closed his eyes for a moment. Then, frowning, he opened them again, "But if she was worried that her energy wouldn't mask your magic and the sense of... well, who you are, then you're either taking in more magic than you should, or you're making your own magic, but that would mean you'd have to be more spirit than human now... and you still should be human." His eyes went wide for a moment. He cursed under his breath, "Niruu has that protection spell with your body."

"That's a good thing right? I mean, that way nothing happens to my body." Chihiro reasoned.

"No! It isn't a good thing, that protection spell, I think, is suppose to protect your spirit more than your body." He jumped to his feet and started walking toward the town. Suddenly, he paused and looked back at the human in a demon's body. He cursed again, "You cannot just stay here. We are going to have to risk bringing..." he fell silent and pulled his hood up, vanishing. "Get down, and don't move!" He hissed.

Chihiro immediately obeyed, ducking behind the rocks they'd been sitting against since Niruu had started eating. She waited silently. The demon ears could hear something trying to move silently, and remain unnoticed through the wind-swept grassy area. She peeked over the rock, catching her first sight of the death spirit that was hunting her. A chill ran down her spine. She ducked again.

The death spirit chuckled to herself. Were she at full strength, she would of taken on the demon. Doppelganger had spoken of a demon such as this one. She wondered if that hidden eye was as powerful as the demon had said. Still, with demons slowly filtering in to this world, she was sure she'd have time enough to look for this 'red eye' the doppelganger was so interested in. She continued on her way. She needed to return to her domain so she could rejuvenate.

Raz appeared at Chihiro's side sometime later. "She's gone." Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief, "That's not a good thing, if she's going, then who is watching the bath house?" Raz shook his head again, "No choice, we have to go after Haku and Niruu."

"Wait, where is it going?"

Raz ran a hand through his hair and groaned, "Spirits come in two forms, bound, and unbound. A bound spirit has to visit the place where its 'home' is in order to rejuvenate power. If she's going now when she gets back she'll be stronger. Unbound spirits don't have a way to regain power once they use it; it takes a lot more time." He ran both hands through his hair, "Oh, we are in trouble... come on!" The two of them started off down the mountain.

* * *

Niruu kept her head down and walked several steps behind Haku. "Niruu cannot sense demon in this body." She grumbled, "Niruu is blinded to dangers."

"Now you know how Sen feels." Haku said under his breath. He looked from one side to the other; almost all the shops were closed down, and of those that were opened, their doors were closed and many shapes moved within. He didn't want to risk the two of them being recognized. He muttered under his breath so only Niruu could hear. "Come on, we'll have to go directly to Yubaba."

"The witch will give you over to death spirit." Niruu stated. Haku didn't pay any real attention to that comment, starting up the path. The demon huffed angrily as they headed for the stairs to the bath house. Niruu shuddered at the base of the steps and looked up at the shape perching on the lantern before the bridge. "That is not spirit, that is demon." She said with confidence.

Haku flicked a hand; shackles appeared on Chihiro's wrists, coming to a chain in Haku's hand. Niruu made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, but accepted it none the less. They walked silently by the figure.

"No comments?" The death spirit impersonator said, its empty eyes following after them.

The dragon glanced over his shoulder at the demon. "It is most different from when I last came to this place."

It chuckled. The doppelganger was tempted to jump from its place and take this spirit's head, but mistress had told him to remain there. "Don't move, don't move." it repeated to itself. "Must please the mistress, she will help get back at all of them." It let his eyes glow in the two's direction. "Yes, I know this dragon," he thought, "he was with the girl, the one mistress seeks." It let out a shudder of what it could only describe as pleasure run through its body. "Yubaba takes all customers that will dare come to her bath house this day." It said, its mouth turning into the bony grin of his mistress's shape. "I ask for the other to remove their hood though."

Niruu flinched in Chihiro's body. Haku pulled the hood down in a flourish. A quickly placed illusion showed Niruu as a pale-skinned water spirit. "Nothing more than my servant," He tugged on the chains to enforce the next words, "A bit of a handful at times, and violent when provoked; harmless otherwise." He replaced the hood, and without another word, the two walked into the bath house.

Doppelganger chuckled to himself, "Mistress will be strong when she returns, yes, and make the liars all dust."

Instead of going up, Haku selected one of the elevators going down. "Where are we going?" Niruu asked quietly.

There were so few guests, but having a death spirit on the bath house doorstep had that kind of effect. "To the boiler man. He'll watch after you until I return for you. Understand Niruu, there will be no wandering." Haku felt very odd calling the face of Chihiro the name Niruu, and it was starting to give him a headache. The elevator came to a sudden stop. They went down the stairs quicky until they reached the door to the boiler room.

As it had been before, noise practically oozed from the door. When Haku opened it, the noise only increased. Haku entered, followed by an edgy Niruu.

The boiler man slowly turned to see his visitors. It was hardly who he expected. "Haku?"

"This isn't the time for reunions Kamajii." Haku said with a smile, "I have a favor to ask you."

"But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for Sen? Last I heard she was in..." he trailed off, his eyes wide, as the girl behind Haku pulled down her hood and looked around curiously at the room. "How could you bring her here? It is too dangerous Haku!"

"This is Niruu, she switched bodies with Sen to confuse the death spirit." Haku turned to Niruu, "Sit." The demon glared but sat all the same. "I just need you to watch her until I come back."

"A demon? Haku what is going on here?" Kimaji demanded.

"Believe me my friend, if I knew, I would assuredy tell you." With that, Haku slipped back out of the boiler room to go have several words with his former master Yubaba.

* * *

Raz adjusted the bag holding the still sleeping Blink over his shoulder while he walked invisibly behind the Chihiro-Niruu. He didn't like this plan she had come up with, but it was all they had.

She walked with her head held high, confidence seeming to speak from her apperance. The whole time in Chihiro's mind, she prayed that they would get past the main gate. She kept her composure as she saw the death spirit sitting before her, when she'd just seen her about half an hour ago walking away from the bath house. She swallowed and just started past him.

"Notty notty Niruu." It said to her when she reached the edge of the bridge. "How did the one with a red eye that doesn't belong to her come to be in the spirit world?"

She paused and had to think of how Niruu would reply to that, "Niruu was summoned."

"Does the mistress call for you as well?" He asked curiously. " No, mistress will have promised her something, mistress has already promised me the eyes. Perhaps mistress did call her here, to take the eye." It thought, smiling slighty. "No, no, could not be. Mistress only calls to those who are strong."

He was trying to get a rise out of the demon who wasn't currently in the body. Raz tugged on one of the scarf arms around her neck; they really needed to keep moving. "Niruu was summoned," she said quietly, keeping a calm and cold expression. "Niruu does not need to explain herself to doppelganger." She walked away, leaving the demon sitting and wringing at the neck of the scythe, curses and hate coming from its lips.

Once they got across the bridge, they ducked into the side garden. Chihiro's heart was pounding when she dropped to a crouch. "That really is him isn't it? Its the doppelganger."

Raz shrugged, "I'm not sure. I can't sense demons... don't worry, it looked nervous from what you said. I'm guessing that you were right." He patted her on the shoulder reasurringly. "Come on, we've got to get to the others."

Chihiro nodded, "I think we should go down to the boiler room. I still know how to get there," she said with a smile, "I'd like to see Kamajii again anyways."

"He's not going to recognize you in this body you know."

"That doesn't matter." She said still smiling, she then headed to the small side door.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I don't own Spirited Away or its characters, but yes! The original characters and this plot line are mine.**

***ducks away into the bomb shelter in the basement* I know, I haven't updated almost all of february... *points at my beta* she was busy and didn't get around to the editing... but I decided to post this anyway because it HAS been so long.. so forgive the mechanical/grammatical errors. If I ever get around to fixing them ALL I'll put a note in. So that said... first shout outs, then Chapter!!! P.S; If I don't give you a shout out and you've reviewed... I still love you for reading my story ^-^**

**mjjm23: Bwahahahaha! Yep, I leave it in suspense! *more maniacal laughter* Oh, you think I can't make a sequal, just watch me!**

**walks-with-nose-in-book: Yes, we are approching the end, I'm thinking maybe another five chapters or so, depending on how much I get in each chapter. ^-^ It was a pleasure working with you as my beta. **

**MC: Yep it's an ongoing story, I update when ever my beta gets through editing the next chapter. I know I'm spelling Kimaji funny, its just how it comes out when I'm typing; as long as you still know who it is I'm talking about that's all I really care about at the moment. And I know Kimaji has six arms, he's great that way he can do many things at once without moving. ^-^**

* * *

Chapter 25

Kimaji watched the girl Sen as she watched the soot balls dart from in their secret holes to come out with coal that seemed to come from no where. She seemed fascinated by this. The boiler man shook his head, this most defiantly wasn't the Sen he knew. That and the soot seemed almost afraid to get too near her. Yep, he thought to himself, a sure sign of a demon. He shook his head and turned back when a bath tile came down in front of him. Requests were few and far between it made it easier to work, but annoyingly slow; days seemed to drag on now, and since Rin had stopped coming to see him it had been lonesome.

"What was your name?" Kimaji asked gruffly while he ground different herbs and small dried creatures into dust.

The girl looked up at him, "Niruu, Niruu is called Niruu."

"Niruu eh?" he watched her laying on her stomach, her attention returned to the soot balls again. They seemed to be mumbling to each other about this new presence. Kimaji scratched his head with one of his unoccupied arms.

There was a knock on the door, "Food Kimaji!" came the voice of one of the other girls in the bath house.

"Yeah yeah, one minute." He waved for Niruu to come stand on the opposite side of him, "Don't make a sound." He looked at the soot as well, "I mean you too." He moved the block of wood he'd been using to keep the door closed since the death spirit's arrival and the servant girl came in.

It was a slient exchange between the two of them, dirty dishes for ones with food; the girl went over and dumped the food for the soot into their waiting hands, it wasn't the usual commotion and joy of getting their rations, it was all done out of necessity now. The girl didn't look up from her work and left almost as soon as she'd appeared, Kimaji's thanks was followed by the closing and securing of his door.

"Alright Niruu," He looked down at her, "I don't suppose you know why you are here do you?"

"Death spirit is searching for Sen," Niruu said, "Niruu was paid to protect and guard Sen."

Kimaji blinked, "You know Sen?" He'd just assumed that the demon in Sen's body had taken possession of it, evicting the spirit of Sen. "Ah, I see, was it Haku who brought you here for this skill of yours?"

She shook her head, "Was brought by Raz, a Shaman."

This caught his attention, "Shaman you say?" He turned to look at her more clearly, she was still standing in the place where she'd been told to go, "Tell me of this shaman." The other door opened and a shape wrapped in blue cloth came into the room. "Niruu get away from there!" The boiler man snapped his finger and the figure fell to its knees and gave an almost in human screech of pain.

Niruu watched for a moment, she'd never seen her own body react to pain. "Stop, that is Niruu's body!" she cried and ran across to wrap her arms around Chihiro, thinking this would stop the pain.

"What?" Kimaji broke the spell, the girl put her hands on the ground for support, "So if that is your body, would Sen be within it?"

The blue wrapped demon body nodded, "It's nice to see you too Kimaji."

"Wow," Another appeared, this one in white, dropping his hood, "Being in each others bodies is starting to get you both in all kinds of trouble, I think you should switch back." The young man looked up at Kimaji, "Hello, you must be Kimaji, you were the one who asked to have the Sylph sent to Sen."

* * *

Haku waved a hand, all the doors opened before him and he simply walked from room to room until reaching a door that was still closed. Instead of opening it the same way as the others he knocked.

"Deciding to be polite after the fact eh you stubborn dragon?" Yubaba's voice echoed around him. "If you must come in then you must." The door opened.

He walked in with his hands behind his back, "You're business is failing." He stated.

Yubaba was sitting behind the desk her hair in a mess, and if it were possible, more wrinkles covered her skin. Wrath crossed her face as she threw several opjects in Haku's direction, "All because of your little pet human!" Haku shifted his weight avoiding the mass of things. "My bird left almost a week ago in search of that girl! The bird came back dead, that blasted death spirit has cut my magic! I am useless, and it's all because that, that, child, had to aggravate death gods and spirits!" She then shook a finger in his direction, "And, and! Stealing my employee's to do her dirty work. First just the useless underlings, then Rin and..." she ranted for several minutes before she finally fell silent.

The river spirit frowned. "Sen did nothing wrong."

Yubaba laughed, "Oh no, doing 'something wrong' has nothing to do with it."

Haku's heart dropped to his stomach, Yubaba knew why the spirit was after Chihiro, and he didn't. If Kuhaku knew Yubaba, it was going to cost him something. "What is it the death spirit wants from Sen?"

The old witch smirked and cackled. "Nothing is free in this world Kuhaku," He asked what she wanted, "I want that death spirit gone, and the only way to get rid of that spirit is to give her Sen. That is what you are to do if I'm to tell you this fact."

Haku gritted his teeth, "I'll get rid of this plague on your bathhouse. What does the death spirit want?"

Yubaba appeared to return to her younger self, she tucked her hair back into the bun, "Give me your word, on Sen's... no Chihiro's life."

It was like a blade to his heart; he couldn't do it, but he had to. "On the life of Chihiro, I give my word to you I will rid you of the death spirit." The witch grinned widely.

"That was a sour thing to do sister." Zaniba came walking into the room from the same door Haku had come through. Her son coming in behind her.

"Mama, take it back!" He demanded.

Yubaba made one of those apologetic faces for her son, "I'm sorry sweetie what's done is done." She stood up, "Now to business." She waved a hand, "All three of you, take a seat."

Chairs came up toward them, Haku took a seat first, the other followed suit. "Please continue." Haku had a strange feeling about leaving Niruu down alone for too long.

* * *

Niruu sat across from her body, Chihiro had her eyes closed doing as Niruu had told her while she uncovered her eye. "Now think of looking out of your eyes, not seeing yourself, seeing Niruu's self through eyes that are in your body."

Chihiro nodded then opened both her eyes, the two locked eyes. Again the sensation of all the feelings in her body vanished, then before she could even sit up it felt like agony wrapped around every fiber of her body. She wrapped her arms around herself and curled into a ball, "Raz... make it stop..." she managed to whisper.

The shaman immediately took the bracelet protection spell off her wrist, Chihiro whimpered, "Alright what you need to do is make your own barrier out of what you have too much of in you to keep all the magic that wants to try and go into you. Which I don't understand, you can only fit so much magic into a human body... it shouldn't be trying to fill a space that doesn't exist."

Why does it think there's room... Chihiro groaned and imagined a thick stone wall keeping all the magic from filling into her. The pain lessened slightly, but not enough. Chihiro rolled over and put her hands into the soot. "Sorry Kimaji..." She closed her eyes. Her hair flew up behind her as magic surged from within her and into the soot. For a moment nothing happened; then one at a time soot balls began popping up, then more and more until there was hardly room for another. Her hair settled on her back as the last of them popped into existence. She sat panting for a moment then reached toward Raz, "Bracelet." she said quietly. Raz complied and handed it to her.

She sat silently for a moment leaning against the base of Kimaji's place of work, he was watching her nervously. She smiled after a moment looking up at him, "Hi Kimaji, long time no see. Sorry to give you so many extra workers."

He swallowed, "Sen, what are you?" Raz had been wanting to ask the same question, "There is nothing in the spirit world that can contain that much magic, and live."

Chihiro laughed, "If you didn't notice, I'm almost not living through it myself." She sat up and started testing all movements for any kind of pain. "I'm not from the spirit world though... how does that work?"

_"I don't know myself._" Blink said coming out from his bag, he stretched and yawned. _"I would go to Inari to ask of this, but I can't leave the three of you in this state."_

"Welcome back Blink." Raz finally found his tongue, "What we really need is some eyes in the bathhouse, could you manage that?"

Blink nodded, _"As you ask."_ He turned and walked out the door which closed behind him and the fox vanished.

Niruu was starting to move, she reached to cover her red eye once more. The reminded Chihiro of the doppelganger. "Niruu the doppelganger is here, he looks like the death spirit, he knows you though... He said something about you not owning the eye you have, and that you shouldn't of been here. What was he talking about?"

The demon stopped for a moment after covering her eye then looked toward Chihiro, "Niruu stole the red eye while it was sleeping. The other one was already gone..." She turned toward Raz, "Niruu had to become stronger, it was all Niruu could do to become stronger..." She sounded like she was almost pleading for Raz's forgiveness. "Niruu took one of black serpent's eyes."

Raz went ridged; Kimaji preformed the 'evil spirit's begone!' finger trick while all the soot balls worked to get out of the room through their doors.

Chihiro broke the silence, "Who's black serpent?"

* * *

"If you recall the story Haku," Yubaba began, "The albino snake spirit?" Haku blinked, "Ah, then you aren't as old as I thought you were, pity. Tell him the story sister, you know it far better than I." Yubaba lit one of her cigarettes in a normal fashion.

Zaniba turned to the dragon, "Many, many years ago, before humans lived in the other world there was a white snake spirit, he was very powerful and some spirits began thinking he was a god. Until the day he met an evil god, it convinced the snake that it could give him a great power. Enough power to rule the world." She tapped her cane on the ground. "The snake's skin turned black." An illusion of a huge snake appeared in the room before them, its eyes blood red, Haku thought of how simmilar those eyes looked to Niruu's right eye. "Then it's god was cast out of the heavens and the other gods and goddesses came to kill this fallen god. The black serpent led this god into the depths of hell and coiled around it to protect it from all the gods and demons in hell." The illusion vanished and she shook her head, "The gods turned the snake to stone and took one of his powerful eyes to keep the fallen god bound into this shell. It is still in the deepest depths of hell, if the second eye is returned to it, the snake will awaken and release the fallen god; who will seek revenge on all the gods and spirits of the world."

Haku didn't understand, "What does this have to do with Sen?"

Yubaba took a long drag on her cigarette, and exhaled, "The death spirit doesn't work for a death god, it is under the command of this fallen god." She tossed the end of her smoke away, "She is searching for the snake's second eye. The only place the gods and godesses of old could think to hide this eye was in the human realm, it was outside the reach of all spirits since a human is needed to bring anything into this world from that one." She waved a hand, "I'll assume the fallen god somehow knew of Sen's previous journey into this world, or could of been what had drawn her in before..."

The dragon stood, "This dark god has been looking for a human slave to find the key to its release?" He set his jaw and turned to leave then paused, "Zaniba, you told Sen to beware of Mizuki, who is Mizuki?"

The women shrugged, "It was what I saw in my scryings." She smiled at Haku, "I also saw that when all of this comes to an end, you will be able to have what you have been longing for all these years." She turned to her sister to speak of her own accomedations while she stayed at the bathhouse for the day while the dragon simply stared at the old witch.

He shook his head, he couldn't afford to stay here and stare at the old sisters bickering. He quickly walked out of the room and took the quickest way down to the lower floors, he jumped over the side railing and landed soundlessly on the baths floor. He looked around at the almost empty baths and went for the stairs to continue down.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: I don't own Spirited Away or its characters, but yes! The original characters and this plot line are mine.**

* * *

Chapter 26

Raz was pacing the room, Chihiro was sleeping and Niruu was deep in discussion with Kimaji when Haku opened the door. Haku closed the door behind him before turning to Raz, "Why are you here!" He yelled, "You were suppose to stay there with Sen!"

Niruu turned to the dragon, "Their circumstances changed and they saw something they believed Niruu and Haku would be needing to learn." Haku blinked at this very 'Niruu' sounding statement coming from the body that he though still contained Chihiro, "Niruu and Sen had to switch back." The demon clarified.

Haku then looked from Niruu to Raz, "I was absent for maybe ten minutes... what exactly did I miss?"

Raz cleared his throat, "Niruu has the other eye of the black serpent... Ch-- Sen is slowly dying from... Well I'd call it magic poisoning, or maybe an over dose of magic... and Blink is off getting information about the bathhouse..." Raz cut himself off when he saw the look on Kuhaku's face.

The dragon spun on Niruu, the demon flinched. Before Haku could begin berrating her for doing something foolish like that Chihiro cut him off.

"Don't get mad Haku, we're alright." She mumbled, coming awake. She slowly sat up, "It isn't as bad as Raz makes it out to be."

He scoffed, "You're dying, and it's not as bad as it sounds?" He crouched down in front of her and gently stroked her cheek, Chihiro watched him. There was something in his eyes that she'd never seen before; it looked like regret. "A dark god is looking for you to try and get you to retrieve the other eye... and it isn't as bad as it sounds?"

She blinked, "What do you mean, it's a death god isn't it?"

Haku shook his head and explained what Yubaba had said to him.

* * *

It was a simple grove of trees in the real world, at least, according to the real world. The death spirit walked calmly, almost smiling through the trees; this was her land. Here was many an unmarked grave; the unclaimed dead. She walked deeper, there was still a small shrine somewhere in the depths of the trees for those whose remains were left to none but the insects, there she would regain her strength and return to the bath house. Then she would find the demon with the red eye, find the human girl and take her body and spirit for her master and find the second eye. It would have to be in that order. Her master said it would be so.

She walked into the shrine, it wasn't empty there were a few of the living at prayers for their misplaced ancestors, the spirit rolled her eyes and walked to the central marker. It had been made to represent all those lost bones in the grove of trees. The death spirit climbed on top of it and sighed, almost like she was at peace. Slowly the skin and sinew began reforming across her skeletal body.

The humans in the room began shivering and complaining of the sudden cold the longer the death spirit remained and rejuvenated. They took it as a bad omen and began to file out of the building; this was very much to the death spirit's liking. She inhaled deeply the still lingering smell of decay. No longer of the flesh, but of those spirits lost so long on this area; as long as they were lost she would have power.

There were very few death spirits that lived in a way she did, not off humans but from the lost spirits. Often other lost spirits of the dead would wander here, and never leave. The death spirit had come to think of the area as a kind of drain, where all the lost spirits were drawn. She wasn't aware if any had committed crimes, or if they were innocent, only that they were dead; beyond that, nothing mattered to this death spirit.

She had once known a death spirit who learned of all the souls that came into his domain, after some time he faded out of existance; for after having learned of the lives of the dead he could no longer find it in himself to ubsorb them for life, or for power. She felt no such guilt and no such desire to gain a reason to feel guilt.

The death spirit smiled, the skin slowly reforming across her skeletal face. That was why the god had chosen her, that was why she would be given the body; she would bring power, and glory to her god. "No human, or spirit will stop me." she whispered to herself. There was a tremble underneath her skin from the mark emblazoned on her collarbone.

_Yes my dear, we will be unstoppable. _The voice whispered and cooed to her. _All the worlds will be ours soon enough. Once I am free we will have nothing to fear._

Grinning, the spirit watched in silence for a moment; then was inturrupted by a wisp forming in the door way. It spoke in its silent way to her; with each of its words her eyes slowly darkened further. "Uninvited guests eh?" She stood and swiped out into the air, pulling her scythe from no where. "Well them, time to get ready then." She grinned, "Time to go get my new body."


	27. Chapter 27

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**Hey everyone! Look I'm not dead! Neither is this story!  
**

**Alright, all who have read, reread, and reviewed my story during its haitus, I love you all. So, I thought I'd give you the next chapter to make you all happy. Apologies for errors.  
**

* * *

Chapter 27

Yubaba quickly sent a demand that the uninvited guests to join her in her private quarters. It was more out of necessity to keep their presence as much of a secret as possible. The rooms looked almost exactly how Chihiro remembered them. Yubaba was sitting behind her desk her glasses on the tip of her nose. The human couldn't help but smile as memories of her begging for a job flooded through her mind.

The old witch looked up at this moment and frowned heavily, "Honestly girl, don't you have the decency to be afraid for your own life?" She humphed and rose from her seat, "Self preservation not in your repertoire anymore than it was when you were a child I see." She stumped over to Chihiro and appraised her, she humphed again, "Don't look any different to me than the day you arrived." she shrugged, "A little taller maybe, but no different."

"It's nice to see you too Yubaba." She bowed to the old witch, "Thank you for trying to help us."

"Help you?" She laughed darkly and went back to her desk, "I have no intentions of helping you." Haku stepped forward annoyed, "Keep your scales on dragon, I will keep up my end of our bargin. That doesn't mean I'm helping in anyway." She turned back to Chihiro, "You and your..." she glanced around at the others in contempt, "friends may stay in this part of the bath house until that death spirit returns, then you'll have to deal with it and get out of my bath house." She waved a hand and another door opened, "You're rooms are down that hall, now go, I don't want to so much as hear a peep out of any of those room for the rest of the night."

They filed out with Haku taking up the end, he glanced over his shoulder at Yubaba who now sat grumbling behind her desk. Haku followed after the others and closed the door.

* * *

Chihiro sat on one of the couches while the Raz and Blink nearly danced around before her giving a small rendition of an old folk story about Inari and one of his many great adventures. Raz portrayed the god while Blink formed smoke creatures for him to battle. Chihiro laughed while Raz jumped and avoided blooms of smoke that were suppose to be fire. Niruu sat on the floor next to the fire place staring silently with her one eye. Chihiro glanced over at her then slowly crept to the demon's side.

"Are you alright?"

Niruu didn't reply for a moment then looked out of the corner of her eye at her, "Niruu has made a mistake, Niruu doesn't know how to fix it..."

Something brushed against Chihiro's hand, she pulled it back out of instinct but watched curiously as the blue scarf flicked across the ground around Niruu. They hadn't moved at all when she had been in Niruu's body, she'd thought it had been in her head that the scarves moved in almost alive fashions, but watching the ends of the scarf around her neck almost glide and swing around her with no air movement she had to ask, "Niruu, are they... alive?"

The demon's attention was temporarily shifted from self pity. "Yes, and no." There was a slight movement under the wrapping of her head, Chihiro wondered if she was smiling. "They are Niruu's storms, Niruu's rain. When Niruu became trapped in the underworlds they followed her there. They miss the sky as much as Niruu does, but they stay with Niruu instead of looking for another rain spirit. Niruu does not know exactly why." She gently ran a hand down the blue fabric, it seemed to curl around the hand that touched it and gently touch back.

"May I?" Chihiro asked cautiously.

After a moment the scarf slowly, almost timidly raised toward Chihiro, Niruu watched curiously as well. Chihiro softly ran her fingers along the edges of the scarf. It felt wet, without being wet. Like silk, but a sponge at the same time. It was trembling slightly under her fingers, like a small frightened animal's heart would beat. Chihiro smiled and put her hand flat on its surface, "I won't hurt you, its alright." She looked at Niruu. "It's very soft, and timid." she giggled slightly.

"It is whatever Niruu needs it to be." She said proudly, "It is strong enough to break bones and sharp enough to cut metals, or soft and kind to keep Niruu warm and comfort Niruu." The scarf gently pulled from Chihiro's hold and wrapped around the demon's arms, "Sometimes Niruu thinks she can still hear the storms and the rains speaking to Niruu..." She went quiet for a moment, "But that is something only spirits can hear, Niruu only remembers what they sounded like."

Chihiro looked over her shoulder at the boys, they were busy discussing, or arguing over their next step. She slid closer to Niruu, "How old are you Niruu?"

Niruu's one eye blinked, "Niruu is unsure, she wasn't very old when Niruu became lost." She looked over at Raz, "he was littler when Niruu was still spirit." She walked over to the two spirits and the shaman and poked Raz in the back of the head, "How old is Niruu?"

Surprised at both Niruu's question as well as her change in attitude Raz stuttered for a reply. "Ah... well, I... I think you're at least one hundred years old."

Niruu then spun on Chihiro, "See, Niruu is still quite young." She was standing with her hands on her hips in a rather proud fashion.

There was a timid knock on the door, "Excuse me..." the face of a frog appeared in the door, "Lady Zaniba wishes a word with Miss Sen." When the words left his mouth his head vanished again.

Chihiro stood and dusted off her backside and lap, Kuhaku also stood. "No, don't worry Haku, it's Granny, so you just stay here and figure out what to do next and I'll be back real quick." Chihiro walked out the door and followed the frog down the halls.

Haku watched the door suspiciously for a moment. "Blink, follow her could you?"

The fox sighed, _"Honestly she will be fine, she's a powerful..."_ he paused trying to find the word, "_being._" Nevertheless the spirit stood, and with every step became progressively more transparent.


	28. Chapter 28

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**Scary isn't it? Two Chapters in one week? Crazy!  
**

**Alright, all who have read, reread, and reviewed my story during its haitus, I love you all. So, I thought I'd give you the next chapter to make you all happy. Apologies for errors.**

* * *

Chapter 28

Zaniba sat sipping her tea and gazing thoughtfully out the window when the knock on the door came. She slowly turned her eyes away. "Come in."

A frog hopped in through the door, "Madam, I've brought Sen as you requested." He then bowed and held the door while Chihiro walked in. The frog then closed the door as he left.

The old witch smiled at her, "You have grown since I saw you last, Chihiro." She put down her tea and waved at Chihiro to walked toward her. "I thought you'd like to hear an idea I had when I saw you, about why the death spirit, and her fallen god, are trying to find you." She looked back to the window, "As well as why magic is being drawn to you."

Chihiro smiled and nodded, "I'm sure if anyone could figure it out you could Granny." She joined Zaniba by the window, the witch waved a hand and a second chair clambered over to them. Chihiro sat. "I've had the hardest time trying to think of why anything here would want to hurt me." The fire crackled away in the large fireplace keeping the room wall, Zaniba's shadow danced eerily on the glass behind her.

Zaniba was quite for a moment, "Did you know, that long, long ago, before there was a bathhouse, and before even my sister and I were born your world, and this one were one and the same?" There was a distant look her eyes and an almost longing to see times like that. "I heard from an very old spirit before he passed his charge to a younger one that it had been a beautiful and peaceful time..." She turned back to Chihiro. "It was separated by the wishes of the gods, nothing could be that peaceful and be entertaining." She sighed, "But during that time, since some spirits, like Haku have two shapes, a beast shape, and a human shape, there were quite a few... halflings that came into existence."

Chihiro blinked, then she 'oh-ed' in understanding, "So spirits were having kids with humans."

Zaniba nodded, "Yes, the gods I suppose didn't know what to do exactly with all of these strange beings that were partially from one world and part from the other. I read in an old tome that the more human ones remained in the mortal world while the creature-like ones either came to this world or disappeared into the beneath world. That Doppleganger is likely one of them, not from here, not from there... you understand don't you my dear?"

She thought about it for a moment, "So, there are people walking around in my world who are part spirit and they don't know it?"

"You never knew, why should they? After all it has been centuries and the blood has been diluted with mortal blood more and more through each marriage."

Chihiro straightened slightly, "Me?"

Zaniba nodded, "Yes, you." She leaned forward, "It is my assumption that somewhere down your family line there is a spirit of some kind, I'm assuming an earth, or wind spirit. And when your family stumbled upon an entrance to this world that it immediately called out to you, trying to bring you in." She sighed and shook her head, "I thought that giving you that protective charm would keep you safe... it did quite a bit of damage actually."

"I don't understand Granny."

"Your spirit 'blood,' for a lack of a better term had never felt magic or had anything to do with magic until you arrived here those years ago, and it seems like it liked it. So when you were given the charm to protect you from harm it cut the flow of magic and spirit to you, essentially starving your spirit part of what it suddenly had had." Zaniba sipped her tea to wet her throat, "When you arrived here again and removed the charm your spirit part began to devour and drag in as much magic as it could reach, it has been gorging itself because it doesn't know if you will cut it off from this magic again."

The girl bit her lip, "My body's trying to kill me because it wants magic and I took myself away from it, that's what you think?" Zaniba nodded, "What gave you the idea that I was part spirit?" Chihiro's eyes flicked back to the shadow of Zaniba, there was something curious about it, but she looked back to the older woman when she spoke again.

"You haven't changed much since you were last here, Chihiro, spirits age at a much slower rate, so as a mortal you would keep your youth well into old age. Yes you've gotten taller and matured, but nothing much else has changed has it." The old witch leaned back in her chair, "It would also explain why this death spirit, and fallen god are after you."

"How?"

"Certain spirits have the power to take possession of another spirit's body, if the spirit is weak." Zaniba stated, again looking out the window. "If this death spirit were able to take control of your body it would likely use you to walk out into the human world, locate the black serpent's eye and return without having to exert much energy." The woman's eyes slowly slid back to Chihiro. "Do you understand?" Chihiro wasn't looking at Zaniba, her eyes were watching the shadow who's movements didn't match the movement of the flames, "You are only the most available puppet for getting the eye..."

"And freeing my master!" The shadow leaped from the wall as Zaniba groaned and slumped in the chair. The witches eyes rolling back in her head.

"Granny!"

The death spirit, scythe and all knocked the chair Chihiro was in flat to the ground and pinned the girl to the ground, the scythe's bladed edge pressed to Chihiro's throat. "The witch will live... a while yet." Her free hand pulled up Chihiro's sleeve and grinned looking at the mark on her arm, "Master was wise to mark his prey, he was always so wise..."

A window shattered behind them, Chihiro turned away from the broken shards flying inward, "_Remove yourself from the girl."_


	29. Chapter 29

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**Scary isn't it? Two Chapters in one week? Crazy!  
**

**Alright, all who have read, reread, and reviewed my story during its haitus, I love you all. So, I thought I'd give you the next chapter to make you all happy. Apologies for errors.**

**To: livelovemusic: thanks so much for the compliment! I'll post again as soon as I can, school does make it harder to write for free.  
**

* * *

Chapter 29

The death spirit raised it head, Chihiro could barely glance out of the corner of her eye. "Blink." She said with a smile.

"_I refuse to repeat myself spirit!_" Smoke rolled up his arm and formed a polearm, its long curved blade was right before the death spirit's eyes.

She laughed. Her eyes followed up the pole of the weapon to Blink's eyes. Even Chihiro could see the small tremor that ran down the spirit's body, "You dare, to order me?" In one movement she grabbed both of Chihiro's hands and pinned them above her head. Chihiro's struggles couldn't even move the death spirit's hands. Her strength was crushing her. The spirit shifted to straddle Chihiro's stomach. "You wouldn't dare harm me little messenger boy," She leaned down, avoiding the edge of the blade by a hair, and pressed her pale cheek against her captive's face, "What would Inari do if you damaged your little charge?"

Again Blink flinched. He looked down at Chihiro, she was trembling, her skin slowly turning pale, black lines began to draw across her face from where the death spirit's cheek touched her, "_And your master, what would he do to you if she was harmed?_"

The captor sat up, the spirit's skin had a strangely healthy glow to the cheek that had been on Chihiro, "I will have her body and her soul will be gone." She stated, "I have no need for a damaged vassal, but her human soul means nothing," she grinned, the blade vanished at the same moment that the death spirit drove her hand though Chihiro, Blink tried to reach her first but failed, "to me."

Chihiro gasped as it felt like ice entered into her body, slowly flowing from her heart and bringing with it a familiar numb sensation, she looked down at the arm sticking out of her chest. There was no blood, there was no gaping mess from her body, but the arm of the death spirit was inside her.

The door slammed open, Chihiro looked up to see the others rushing into the room, "Touch me and she dies!" The death spirit shrieked.

They all gave various yells of her name while the world began to swim and Chihiro's world when dark.

* * *

"Resisting is useless."

Chihiro's eyes shot open, all around her was black. She was against what she assumed was a vertical surface since the death spirit, half skeletal, half flesh, sat before her. Annoyed she tried to move, but across her wrists and ankles was the same blackness, binding her there. "Let me down from here and I'll show you how 'useless' I am."

The spirit smiled and clucked her tongue. "Strong words for a soul that can't even keep me out of the body." She stood and walked closer to her, Chihiro couldn't help but hold her breath.

Resist Chihiro, don't give in.

She blinked, the voice was back again.

"Lets see what lives in this soul shall we?" Before Chihiro could even form a protest, she started seeing pinpricks of light in the surrounding darkness. Each continued to grow, as if they were on a train moving toward them, as they got closer more began to appear. Chihiro watched as memory after memory began gently floating past the death spirit. Chihiro caught flashes of past conversations as they went past her.

"Humans have boring lives." The death spirit announced as she watched.

Don't let her see! The voice chastised, She'll use it if she takes your body from you.

Chihiro closed her eyes and willed all of the memories blank. When she opened her eyes the memories were like fuzzy television screens black and white dots filled them.

The death spirit slowly turned back to Chihiro. "I already told you, resisting is useless. I will get what I need one way or another."

* * *

When the death spirit had vanished into Chihiro, Haku immediately pulled Chihiro out from the chair and flat on the floor. Her body convulsed and the blackness began to spider from where the hand had gone into her.

"Do something Shaman!" Haku bellowed. Raz shook his head. "I'll kill you if you don't!"

"_Chihiro has to do this on her own._" Blink stated, he dropped to his knees at Chihiro's other side. "_I did not realize the witch was possessed, I am at fault."_ He looked at the band on Chihiro's wrist. "_I suggest we give the girl a fighting chance while she's within herself." _He removed the protection spell.

Niruu stood fuming at the door, her azure energy pulsating around her. "Niruu will kill her servant, Niruu will make things right." She whispered to herself, the scarves vibrated in agreement. She turned without a word to the others and vanished down the stairs, all the while unwrapping the scarf from around her face.

* * *

**AN: Well Niruu and Chihiro are in for epic a battles wouldn't you say? Hope you've enjoyed reading, don't forget to leave me a little love with a review!**

**Oh, and I'm sorry for grammatical errors.  
**


	30. Chapter 30

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**Alright, all who have read, reread, and reviewed my story during its haitus, I love you all. So, I thought I'd give you the next chapter to make you all happy. Apologies for errors.**

**I apologize in advanced, my fight scene's aren't the best in the world, anyone who has suggestions for fixes I'm all ears.**

**So, I've started having problems keeping track of when Chihiro's "Inner voice" speaks to her, so it will be marked with a tilde, '~' that mark. Hope it makes it easier for you too.  
**

**To : THANKS SO MUCH I'LL TRY AND UPDATE AGAIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!**

* * *

Chapter 30

Doppleganger felt her coming before he saw her. The energy rippled the air of the bath house more than even the death spirits. Doppleganger grinned, her energy was doused in anger, "Mistress has begun her plan." He whispered in glee, frightening several spirits that were nearby. They hurried away from the bath house.

Splinters of wood danced into the air as Niruu's scarves sliced into the bridge, "You will return from where you came Doppleganger! Or Niruu will send you back in pieces for the lesserlings!" The scarf that had been twisted to cover her entire face now only covered the red eye, long black hair twined down into needle points at her waist twitched slightly while the ends of this scarf hung down over her shoulders. The neck scarf's ends looked like ragged blue blades coming from over her shoulders.

The demon's head turned backwards on its body and grinned with its sharp teeth, "I follow orders of mistress alone. You are nothing more than a thieving lesserling!" It leaped into the air, changing forms as it came toward her, a mass of popping bones, shifting sinew and contorting flesh. Its final shape was shrouded in a shadow forming into a cloak. "Mistress gave me one order Niruu. I am to kill anything that leaves the bathhouse before she gains her new form." Eyes of red flashed from within the cloak, "I will make mistress proud by taking the red eye from you."

Niruu's scarf just managed to move up and block the flash of loosely bandaged fingers coming from beneath the cloak as it drove in toward the covered eye. The second scarf shot up wrapping around the limb and threw Doppleganger across the bridge and slammed into a beam inside the bathhouse. "Niruu will not fall," She began as she walked into the building, "Niruu will _not_ die," She grabbed hold of the cloak and threw off the shadows from him revealing an almost human form, cloth bandages wrapped around deformities that oscillated beneath its skin, its eyes red and blood shot staring at Niruu's single revealed eye, "And Niruu_ will not_ let death spirit revive dark god."

Those bandages hands shot forward against Niruu's ribs relinquishing her hold on him and sent her back out onto the bridge the scarves grabbing hold of the railings halting her backward progression. She put a single hand to her ribs while she straightened. Energy wrapped around the broken and bruised bones returning them to their former shape. She laughed, "That all Doppleganger has?"

The beady red eyes narrowed, it charged at the same time as Niruu, they collided on the bridge. It trembled under the impact. Dark liquid dripped onto the wooden boards.

* * *

It sounded like the drip of a leaky faucet at first, but with each plink of water the darkness around Chihiro pulsated. She looked down at the death spirit, she was still trying to make the screens begin to play again. The intruder didn't notice anything. Chihiro started looking around wondering where this noise was coming from. More drops fell, still in a regular pattern, then slowly the pulses began to quicken.

She felt different, with each of these pulses she felt stronger, and more confidence. The bindings on her felt like nothing. She looked at them and pulled slightly. They vanished and her feet were released as well. The pattern changed, becoming faster. She looked around for the source of the sound, but was grateful for it.

~No! Don't horde it, let it flow through you, you are part of the flow of the magic, not the dam to hold it in, but a stone the river can move and give its strength.

The voice felt like it had nipped at her skin with the words. Chihiro could understand this, but didn't know how to do it. The pulses of magic were beginning to turn into a small continuous run of power. She could feel it building up in her. If she could channel it all into what she needed she could expel this intruder, she knew she could.

~No! You will damage it, you will damage you, let it flow you have all the power you need it will answer your call!

Chihiro took a deep breath and let it go. The magic stopped building, but it began to run easier and faster through her. She could feel some of the spirit world magic clinging to her in fact, not all of it left, but it didn't give any sort of pain. She looked around in awe at it all.

~Yes! I knew it was you, it had to be you!

While the girl didn't understand that she slowly, deliberately walked up behind the still distracted death spirit. It was like watching a child trying to get a disabled television to work. Chihiro grabbed hold of the spirit's shoulder and spun her to face her. "You don't belong here, I want you out."

The death spirit's eyes held no surprise, or any other emotion as far as Chihiro could tell, "Stronger than I gave you credit for I suppose." In one smooth movement the spirit's scythe appeared and swung towards Chihiro. She ducked and tackled the invading spirit, using the magic that flowed to help push her, "Did you forget you're not the only one with magic!" the spirit snapped and waved scythe again.

Chihiro's footing slipped on ice summoned by the spirit. Her hold slipped and she fell to her stomach, she glanced up as the scythe came down. Her stomach fell, no I can't die like this, not now that I've just gotten the hang of this magic! She couldn't move, bound by more magic as the scythe fell. She clenched her eyes shut.

* * *

**He he he, you can begin the yelling of nuuuuuu! you can't end a chapter like this! who's dead? who's alive? Update really really soon! ^-^ I love pulling people into my work.**


	31. Chapter 31

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**So, I thought I'd give you the next chapter to make you all happy. Apologies for errors.**

**I apologize in advanced, my fight scene's aren't the best in the world, anyone who has suggestions for fixes I'm all ears.**

**So, I've started having problems keeping track of when Chihiro's "Inner voice" speaks to her, so it will be marked with a tilde, '~' that mark. Hope it makes it easier for you too.  
**

* * *

Chapter 31

The scythe's blade slid along the length of what appeared to be the branch of a iron made tree.

~You will not harm this one!

It came up around Chihiro, like roots above ground. It wrapped around her and fused together, then divided again. Standing over her was what looked like a gray skinned spirit, its flesh had an almost bark like look to it, its hair was short and spiked up slightly. Chihiro looked up at him, he was wearing what appeared to be a karate uniform it hung loosely open across his well muscled chest.

"What in death's name are you!" The intruding spirit hissed and stumbled back a few steps.

~You won't get the pleasure of knowing! Stand up Chihiro.

She dusted off her front as she got to her feet again. "Do I get to know who you are and what you've been doing in my head?" She asked keeping an eye on the death spirit.

~Later. First the intruder. I'll let you defend your own mind.

He handed her a familiar object, the bow. Chihiro grinned, there were no arrows but she immediately turned to the death spirit, and drew back the string. Magic flowed over her fingers, up the sting, around the wooden portion of the bow and then formed an arrow shape between the two. "I wonder what happens when you kill a death spirit." She released.

The death spirit lunged out of the way, where she had been standing a smoking crater now sat. She rushed Chihiro. The girl brought up the bow to catch the scythe over her head. She glanced back, the wooden looking spirit had vanished again. She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Well it is my fight for my body..." she muttered to herself. She looked back up to the tip of the scythe blade hovering inches above her right eye.

She felt the magic from the death spirit, she moved as the blade extended, it would of punctured directly though her skull if she'd stayed put. Panting she looked at the spirit, it flickered then vanished into the darkness. Chihiro immediately straightened and loaded another arrow of magic. The world around her was almost pitch black except for the occasional flicker of the image screens.

* * *

Haku sensed them as just as they began to appear. He leaped to his feet and put himself between the forming imps and other dark creatures and Chihiro. A sword came from a sheath from Blink's side and Raz immediately pulled his hood up, vanishing from view. "Come to back up their mistress I'd reckon." His voice came from somewhere beside Chihiro, "I'll hide her in another room." Without taking any comments from the other two Chihiro's body vanished, as well as Zaniba's.

Raz reappeared deeper in the bathhouse, in one of Yubaba's rooms. He adjusted Chihiro's limp body on his back again. Her skin was cold and her pulse was so erratic, he bit his lip, "You're not allowed to die Chihiro. If you die then the rest of the world is going to be in trouble." The blackness in her veins pulsated cruelly below the surface. Zaniba had slowly become conscious during the short trip and had taken herself in an opposite direction.

The shaman walked over a few more rooms until he found one with a bed. He laid Chihiro's still form on the covers and concocted a concealment charm. He shook his head wondering if anyone would ever make one that could be mobile. "These stable spells and charms can't be moved, pain in the back if you ask me, too heavy to carry them around everywhere too." He said to Chihiro, he didn't know if she could hear him but he wasn't willing to bet any different. If they started believing she wasn't there anymore it would cast all sorts of ill omens on her.

* * *

Claws raked down Haku's shoulder and back, he roared in anger at the imp and caught it between his dragon jaws, breaking many bones and casting its carcass aside, it turned into dust mid-air. He swung his tail to bat away several more of the creatures.

Blink was fending off the creatures with his katana. While his was a god against most violence, defense was something anyone was for. The blade dipped in and through many of the dark creature's bodies. That is until there was a familiar, and as always unpleasant shriek from behind the bathhouse. The blade missed its mark leaving him open for a set of jaws to sink into his lower arm. Blink yowled and used the attached creature as a blugion against other approaching creatures. "_We are greatly outnumbered dragon, and by the sound of it, border dragons are approaching."_

Haku growled, and lunged at the monster biting into Blink, he neatly bit into the kling-on causing it to vanish. _Gods help us..._ He thought desparately.

"YOU DARE, TO ATTACK IN MY BATHHOUSE!" The voice bellowed from the doorway. The dragon's head turned, then ducked just in time to avoid the fireball streaking past and striking an imp in its belly, it vanished along with several will-o-the-wisps behind it, "I'll show you what happens to trouble makers in my business!" Yubaba began throwing multiple spells around, grateful that the death spirit's binding on her magic had suddenly disappeared. "I'll take care of these small fries, get rid of those dragons before they burn down my bathhouse! Or the money will be coming out of you're gods pocket!"

Kuhaku chuckled and jumped out of the window, shattering the glass followed by Blink and the voice of Yubaba yelling that that was the first thing they were going to have to pay for.

* * *

**He he, one angry Yubaba. Never threaten that woman's place of business.**

**~Surprise Chapter, couldn't sleep and got it written. Enjoy, as always gimme reviews. Oh, and yes we are drawing toward a close.**

**~Next chapter; More of Niruu's fight, More of Chihiro's fight -which I find the most difficult of them actually- and maybe some with Haku and Blink.  
**


	32. Chapter 32

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**So, I thought I'd give you the next chapter to make you all happy. Apologies for errors.**

**I apologize in advanced, my fight scene's aren't the best in the world, anyone who has suggestions for fixes I'm all ears.**

**So, I say this chapter is rated teen cause it is kind of gory. Lots of blood, and it's all very well described.  
**

**To livelovemusic95: Thank you and your welcome. Your story is very interesting and I can't wait for it to update.  
**

* * *

Chapter 32

One hand was bound, broken by the blue cloth that had cut deep into the gray fluctuating flesh. the other was holding back a crackling ball of azure energy in Niruu's hand and a blue scarf end appeared to be trying to pull the arm in a more unnatural position. A third hand, growing from the elbow bend of the now broken limb, with its long claws had broken through the blue cloth covering the eye. Blood soaked into the cloth while the fingers and nails tried to work their way deeper into the socket to pry the red eye from its current residence. Niruu's other hand had taken hold of this extra limb and was trembling to hold the arm in place to keep it from moving back, taking the eye with it.

Her teeth were set in a hard grimace, blood dripping down her face her other eye blurring as its partner of so many years was trying to be stolen. "That..." she said in a deeper, and more gravelly voice, "is... mine!" The two other scarf ends had cut deeply into the sinews of the doppelganger's shoulders pulled out quickly and both cut through the offending arm and then wrapped around it.

"Is not yours!" The creature shrieked in anger while black blood dribbled down its skin before it healed over. "It is the one who is strongest!" It tried to pull his arm back again, the hand and bindings held tightly. The form suddenly shifted. Niruu's eyes went wide when Chihiro stood before her, blood speckling her skin and dripping down her body, "Niruu.. what are you doing to me?" She said with tears flowing.

She knew it was Doppelganger**,** but the sudden shift in appearance created the slight opening her enemy needed. His hand tore backwards from the hold and the scarves sliced off portions of skin. Niruu screamed in agony and anger, she fell to her knees and put a hand over the gaping hole where the eye had been. Blood poured from the open socket. Her head shot up and she glared at the doppelganger in Chihiro's form.

It also shrieked, but in victory. It had it's prize, its form changed to its other shape while grasping the red, blood covered orb in its upraised hand, "It is mine useless lesserling, I will throw you back to the others limb by limb! What joy this will bring for me."

The scarves began to tremble, reacting to the rage building in their master. Niruu slowly got to her feet, "That is Niruu's." Her other eye no longer held the blue light of its usual color. It now held the same color as the eye in doppelganger's hand. The abomination stumbled back several steps at the sight of it. "You will return what is Niruu's, or Niruu will teach you the true meaning of pain."

The blue cloths moved from their places around her neck and face, she closed her empty eye while the scarves became what could only be described as wings. The other ends wrapped around her arms, the ends split and wrapped around her hands and fingers becoming long and deadly claws. Her energy shifted from azure, to blood red.

A fist slammed into the doppelganger's chest, torn portions of the scarf biting into the skin like a serrated blade. She vanished, the creature didn't have time to move before the claws bit into its back.

Without a second thought the creature tore out one of its eyes it then slammed the black serpent's eye into place. It shrieked when the claws sunk into the front of it's body around it's heart. The creature shifted the position of its heart. "You will not beat me now lesserling! I have the-" its voice broke off. Blood began dripping down from around the red eye, blood that could not be staunched by shifting it away. "What curse have you put on me!" it yelled then began to shriek "It burns! It burns!"

Niruu slammed a handful of red energy into the abomination's chest sending it sprawling onto the ground, it contorted in agony and continued to shriek, its voice growing higher and more unhuman with each cry of "It burns." blood dribbled from its chest, it was too distracted by its agony to heal itself.

The once spirit, now demon, approached Doppleganger, "Niruu made a promise when she took his eye." She dug her claws into the flesh just under its collarbone and slid her hand in behind it and lifted him up by said bone wrapping her fingers around it, "There is more to story of Black serpent, only Niruu knows of it though. Many years passed, and Black Serpent feels betrayed, so he begins to wish to leave dark god, but other gods believe this is trick and leave him to such dark fate." Niruu tilted her head to the side watching the blood flow from the socket around the red eye. "Niruu began to hear his voice, and listened to the story when she was still small trapped spirit. He promised power, and all manner of things should she let him leave with Niruu, for Niruu was trapped just before the statue in lowest of low realms."

She pulled on hand out of the creature, it's cries had died down, its voice catching in its esophagus, she slid the tips of the claws in to the eye socket, "Niruu refused at first, but Black Serpent became Niruu's only friend, soon he did not need to offer things to Niruu, she would need power Black Serpent knew this if they were to survive. So, when Niruu took the red eye of Black Serpent, she took into Niruu what was left of the spirit of Back Serpent as well." The eye slid easily out of the socket. She immediately dropped the now twitching, and fluctuating creature to the ground. "Leaving only the empty husk to surround dark god for all eternity. The body cannot move without the spirit within it."

"This..." her voice changed to the deeper and more gravelly tone, "is mine." She slid the eye back into the empty socket, blinked then looked back to Doppelganger. "Now, we will show you pain."

The doppelganger began to try and slide its damaged body away. Its mind had been assulted by such images, and sounds that nothing in the lower realms could match it. His body refused to heal itself at all its punishment, "Mercy... mercy great serpent..." it whimpered.

"We do not know this word."

* * *

**Okay, who saw that one coming? Just curious if anyone thought of that. AND who wants me to write up the torture that Niruu/Black Serpent puts Doppelganger through before tossing his little hide back into the abyss?  
**

**I love when the story comes out when I want it to. ^-^ Hope you all enjoy this pluthra of chapters this week, I suppose it's a good thing when I can't get to sleep.**


	33. Chapter 33

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**The end draws nigh, I'm pretty sure this will end in maybe three or four more chapters, and then... I don't know!  
**

**I apologize in advanced, my fight scene's aren't the best in the world, anyone who has suggestions for fixes I'm all ears.**

**Just for all of your information, the last I checked, collectively since I made this story its gotten 10,029 hits! Which means that I luff you all for luffing my writing. If you like it, refer it to a friend to read.**

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Chapter 33

Three dark forms moved through the water while Haku flew overhead, Blink standing on his back. "_We are outnumbered."_ The dragon spirit growled in agreement._ "Our best bet is a surprise attack and kill one of them immediately."_ Haku nodded and flew higher, disappearing into the clouds. _"This would be much easier if you were in connection with your river."_

Haku snorted, of course he knew that. He swam smoothly just above a thin layer of cloud cover, staying immediately over the bathhouse, the occasional sound of an explosion from Yubaba's magic filtered through the broken windows_. _The border dragons continued through the water, leaving a trail of what looked to be rotting flesh, and bubbles of black sludge. They reached the wall and began to climb.

Haku dove straight at them, Blink drew his blade and jumped as Haku produced a wave of sound toward the center creature. Its claws scraped down the metal walls while its compatriots jumped up and latched their claws into Haku's scales, the river spirit roared in pain and pushed off the wall taking the two into the water with him. Blink's blade drove deep into the hard skull of the third dragon. The inhuman cry blew the fox spirit off its face, leaving the blade stuck in its body. He cursed when he landed in the water. The beast began to shake its head violently trying to remove the metal thorn from its skull. He needed to pull the blade out himself or the creature would remain.

It lashed and struck out as Blink tried to approach, he jumped to avoid a spiked tail. The water began change colors, he quickly shot a look in Haku's direction.

They were on the train tracks, one stood on Haku's back its claws racking over and over again along his spine, his scales littered the red waters around them. The other border dragon was half pinned below him, its own clawed feet trying to keep its opponent from escaping the punishment of its companion. Haku's eyes occasionally lost focus under the punishment, his own cries of pain lost under the sound of the one with a blade in its skull.

Blink found himself surrounded by its tail and its jaws. He jumped to avoid the closing jaws. "_Hold on Haku!"_ He reached up, took hold of the blade, his hand slid up it's length, cutting into his hand and pulled the blade from the creature. Its tail swung in and struck him in the back. It crumbled to ash as Blink fell to his knees. He stumbled back to his feet and ran at the dragon atop Kuhaku's back with his blood beginning to drip down his back and off the tip of his tail. "_Inari, give me strength..."_ he whispered to his sovereign deity. He leapt into the air over the second boarder dragon his sword overhead.

Light flashed brightly, blindingly. "I will grant you a favor, Kitsune; make sure you return with a _full_ report this time." A voice, neither male nor female said within the light. The blade in Blink's hand extended the blade shifted from being above his hand to below. Becoming a spear. Blink's eyes went wide.

_"Haku move!"_ The spear head slid through the border dragon's thick hide like it was tissue paper, coming out the other side. It screamed in a pitch that it previously had never reached. Haku moved as best he could manage, still the spear cut through him as easily as it had his enemy. The river spirit's bellow of agony matched that of his opponent. The third creature yelped and escaped from below Haku. It bellowed at the two who had sought its life then fled away from them, and the bath house. Blink watched as the creature below him twisted in a final agony before falling into ash. He licked his lips. "_My apologies friend, this is going to hurt."_ He quickly pulled the DragonflyCutter from Haku's side.

Again the river spirit roared in pain, it turned into a string of curses as he shifted into his human form. He immediately grabbed his side while blood poured from both it and the gashes in his back, he spat a mouthful of blood, "Where did Inari come by the Tonbogiri." He demanded.

Blink grinned sheepishly and spun the weapon in his hand bringing its base to rest on the ground, its blade, clean of blood even after having driven through two dragons glimmered in the air. "_Inari is a notorious collector of artifacts. No matter what they are. I brought this one to him in fact."_ He grimaced at the sight of Haku, "_I will heal you."_

"Just the spear wound. We have to get back to help Yubaba and Raz."

* * *

The last of the symbols were in place, he sighed in relief and wiped sweat from his brow. He fell back onto his backside and looked up at the motionless Chihiro. "They'll get here as soon as they can, I'll think of a way to help you..." He stood suddenly and looked at Chihiro. The blackness was retreating, and there was a strange, eerie glow to her skin. Magic was flowing though her like a conduit. It came out stronger than it had gone in, she was acting like an amplifier, he wondered what was going on inside of her.

He didn't see the shape pass the door then return.


	34. Chapter 34

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**I apologize in advanced, my fight scene's aren't the best in the world, anyone who has suggestions for fixes I'm all ears. This mental battle inside Chihiro is kicking my trash. So it may be a little abruptish cause I can't get it all the way I want it to be.  
**

* * *

Chapter 34

Chihiro stumbled back several steps, avoiding the tip of the scythe again. There was a flash a moment before the blade would be swung. The sound of the magic was like that of a river. Again she stumbled when the blade flashed over her again.

She was ankle deep in water. Confused, she just managed to duck the scythe again. "River?"

~Your mind, you create it.

Chihiro stood for a moment, no further swipes came for a few moments. "You think you have the advantage." She smiled, "Try this on for size." Her eyes closed, above her a light began to shine. At her feet the water was clear with a muddy bottom. It began to spread further. All around her, the river grew, the sky gained color, grass sprung up from the blackness, flowers, trees, and off in the distance smoke billowed up from the bathhouse. Standing beneath a tree was the death spirit, she frowned looking at the grass below her feet, it refused to die. "I'm not afraid of you here."

"You should be, you die here. You never return." As she moved Chihiro brought up the bow and fired an arrow, it caught the spirit in the shoulder before it could escape. She continued toward Chihiro, another arrow fired, the scythe blocked off that one, leaving the weapon dented. "I will have your body Chihiro!"

_I'll have your soul_. The dark thought crossed her mind as she drew back another arrow. This one different from the other ones, not white, but tinged with red. It pulsated then as she released it became completely red. The spirit tried to move, but she predicted its movement and released the arrow.

It shattered the scythe and struck directly through the heart of the death spirit. It stumbled and put a hand against the hole in its body. It stumbled back a few steps, then a pulse sent the spirit to its knees. "What are you doing?" It hissed.

Its body began to disintegrate, spiraling into the air. It surrounded Chihiro and vanished into her skin. Curiously she lifted her hands and looked at her hands, she turned them over a few times

~While that wasn't a wise thing to do, it was one way to keep her from being recreated.

Chihiro looked up at the gray, woody skinned spirit. "What happened, where did it go?"

~She. You absorbed the whole portions of her spirit. The parts you destroyed, including her persona, so don't worry about becoming possessed by her, her power has become part of you.

She turned her hands over again then closed them into a fist. A scythe appeared in her hands, panicked, then let the thing disappear again. "How is that possible?"

~That's a bit difficult to explain.

"Wait firstly, who are you! And how did you get into my mind!" She pointed one end of the bow at his nose.

~I am a spirit. A very particular spirit, one who doesn't like to have things in his face. I've been protecting you Chihiro, I'm not here to harm you. I'm here to teach you.

The bow dipped slightly, "Teach me? Teach me what?"

~Who you are, and what you are destined to become.

He directed her toward the hill and took a seat, he patted the ground beside him.

Chihiro crossed her arms, "I'd rather have this discussion conscious. My friends are in danger, and I'm going to help them."

He smiled. ~Very well. We can do that as well.

* * *

Claws sunk into his back, "Give, give! Die, die!" The dark imp sunk bit into Raz's neck.

The Shaman clawed at the thing clinging to its back. He ran backwards and slammed into the wall hoping to break its grip. "You can't have her cause I have to protect her." He managed and slammed back again. His white hair beginning to turn red with his blood.

The hands pulled out of his back only to grab hold of his arms and pull up on them. Raz slammed back again, it squeaked and released the hold on his neck, "Die die!"

An arrow slid through its skull and went down along its spine. "You're the only one who will die."

Raz fell to the ground and looked up at Chihiro, she wasn't alone. "You alright?" He asked.

The girl nodded, "You?"

He shrugged, "Been better. The death spirit?"

~Taken care of.

He turned his attention to the spirit standing beside Chihiro on the bed. His eyes went wide and he dropped his head to the ground.

"Raz?"

~Please, that isn't necessary.

"Chihiro do you know who that is?" He said loudly, his head to the ground. "That is the spirit of the spirit world."

* * *

**Yep, told you it would be short and abrupt. Sorry. So there is one more chapter after this, and an epilogue.**

**The reason it's becoming the end is well, death spirit dead. I know there's lots of other fun things that have been happening that haven't been explained, but that's what sequels are for right? :p  
**


	35. Chapter 35

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

**To ShellyMay: Thanks for reviewing. I've somehow magically been able to update a lot this week, Then life became magically more busy when the weekend drew nearer and I didn't get to finish this chapter. But here it is!  
**

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Chapter 35

Yubaba sighed and fell to her backside in the room. "That dragon better be willing to pay to fix this place." She muttered.

"So stingy sister." Zaniba came walking in, she waved a hand, a chair set itself back up on the fire singed carpet. "I'd say that most of it is your own doing." She took a seat on it.

A glare when in her direction, "What about you? Getting trapped by that death spirit, what would you call that?"

Zaniba dusted off her shoulder, "A momentary lapse in judgment, on your part. Didn't you think to put up protection around your office?"

The bathhouse owner scoffed. "That dragon better get rid of that death spirit as he promised."

Her sister scoffed. "You really have gotten old sister. Can't you sense it, the death spirit is gone, and you have another visitor."

Haku and Blink jumped up into the window and looked at the sisters. "Looks like you did well Yubaba." Haku stated.

"Always the tone of surprise from you, I may be old, but I'm not dead." She got up again, "Shall we, someone's with your friend and the girl in one of my rooms."

* * *

When they walked in Raz was still in the same position, his head on the ground. Chihiro was sitting cross-legged on the bed and the other spirit was standing beside the bed. Haku immediately walked over to Chihiro, "Are you alright."

"Of course," her eyes widened. "What happened to you?" She wiped some of the blood from his face.

Haku waved it away, "Nothing that would keep me from protecting you." His eyes raised to the strange spirit and narrowed. "who is this?"

Raz raised his head immediately, "You don't know who this is?" He sat back on his knees. "Have you never seen the spirit of the spirit world?"

Haku looked from Chihiro to the spirit then to Raz, "Its been a while since the last one was seen. Usually it is present in the dreams of all spirits from time to time. But its been..."

~Five years. Approximately.

He stated, then looked to Chihiro, he smiled.

~Shall I explain where I have been?

They slowly nodded.

The door opened again, Niruu walked in. Blood dried across most of her body, the scarves limp around her neck. "Doppelganger is dead. Niruu has taken care of it."

Chihiro jumped out of the bed and went to Niruu's side, "Are you alright? Is that all your blood?"

Niruu shrugged, "Niruu didn't keep track of what was hers and what was his."

~How have you been serpent?

They looked to the spirit again then to Niruu.

She shrugged, her voice coming out a bit deeper. "We have been better. We need our other eye to be able to have our own form."

The blade of the DragonflyCutter came against her throat. "_You have been deceiving us all this time!"_

"We have deceived no one." She stated, crossing her arms. "Niruu is here, she controls the body far more than serpent does, serpent only lives in a back portion of our mind." Her voice returned to normal. "Serpent abandoned dark god, serpent is friend of Niruu." She said and moved away from the spear blade, "Niruu protected Sen, Niruu and serpent were in Sen's body, if serpent had wanted to hurt Sen then he would of done so then!"

Raz nodded, it was true. "Blink, I don't think he, she, they're a threat. Put down the spear."

Blink looked at the shaman for a moment before lowering the weapon, but he kept his eyes on the Niruu.

~Should I begin now?

There was a general consensus of yes.

~Chihiro will be taking my place as spirit of the spirit world. Before the yelling of what, and other such things I will explain. Every four thousand years the time comes for the spirit world to be renewed. Which includes its spirit. The time for me to pass the charge was, a few years ago actually.

He shrugged

~There are requirements to be the next spirit. One of them is they must be human.

"Why?" Chihiro asked.

~Well, simply put the spirit has to willingly give up their humanity to protect, and recreate the world. I was once human, long ago. Also there should be an ancestor somewhere in their line who was a spirit. I sensed you outside the gate and tried to bring you in. But you were young and so timid that I couldn't make you stay, nor could I leave you alone. So, I left the spirit world with you to protect you as best I could.

"You left the world, and it began to crumble." Haku stated, "All so you could keep track of an heir?" He shook his head, "You failed your own mission."

~Of course I didn't.

He reached over and gently touched Chihiro's face.

~As soon as my time as the spirit ends I couldn't keep it protected or in one piece; there was nothing that I could do for this world. She however, will be able to once the power leaves me and goes into her.

Chihiro blinked, "What if I don't want to?"

~Then this world will continue to fall apart until I find another who can take my place. However, I know you Chihiro, you love this world and all those who are in it. You would do anything you can to protect them all.

She knew he was right, she bit her lip and looked at all the new friends she had, and thought of all the old ones. She looked up at the spirit. "Will I still be me?"

The spirit smiled brightly.

~Of course you will Chihiro, its one of the reasons I chose you. You have an honest heart, and a spirit that always changes, the spirit of the spirit world must be willing to change.

"I'll do it."


	36. Epilogue

**I do not own Spirited Away, the original characters and this plotline belong to me.**

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Epilogue

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Haku asked quietly, she was laying back in the bed, Niruu was speaking to Raz rather avidly.

"I can make all of this better Haku. I'll be stronger too, I can protect myself now." She said happily.

Haku smiled with her, but slightly sadder. "He said it could take a while for the power to transfer, and then you'll have to..."

"Die." Chihiro said finishing his sentence. She nodded, "Within a week of having the power given to me. I can't kill myself though, it has to be either an accidental death or one cause by someone else." She repeated what the spirit had said. She took a deep breath. "I'm absolutely positive that I want to do this."

~Good. I won't have a half-willing heir to this world. The potion I gave you should take effect shortly, I suggest you say your last words to your friends.

Niruu walked over to the bed and gave Chihiro a surprising hug, "Raz has made a promise with Niruu and Black Serpent, we will stay with Chihiro until Raz returns. Raz will find Serpent's other eye, and then serpent will guard over Chihiro until she awakens." She took off one of her scarves and wrapped it around Chihiro's neck. "This will stay with Chihiro, it will protect her always, and will help her remember her friend Niruu should we never meet again."

Chihiro grinned and ran a hand over the fabric around her neck, it shivered under her touch but also was peaceful. "Thank you so much Niruu. I hope we do meet again though."

"Niruu does as well."

Blink was standing silently next to the door, "_Rest well, future guardian of the spirit world, I have much to report to Inari now. And I'm sure a task he will send me on as repayment for this." _He gestured with the spear.

"Maybe our paths will cross again."

Zaniba gave her a hug, "Use your strength well soon to be spirit. And remember my warning."

Chihiro blinked, what warning? But the witch and her sister both disappeared from the room followed by Blink. Raz nodded in her direction then pulled up his hood and vanished. She shook her head at the shaman. "Bye Raz."

Haku climbed up onto the bed beside her and cradled her upper body against his chest. He kissed the top of her head when she began to feel drowsy. "I love you Chihiro." He whispered. She smiled faintly and strained to listen when he spoke to the spirit of the spirit world. "How long will she sleep?"

~As long as it takes for the power to go from me to her.

Haku gave him a dark look, "How long is that normally?"

~It varies from one spirit to another.

"...How long did it take you?"

The spirit hesitated.

~I slept for many of the first years of my time of power.

Chihiro fell into a warm darkness.

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**That my friends, is the end of this fic!**

**Yes, I'm planning a sequel, no I don't know when I'll get around to the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed my little jaunt through the world of Miyasaki's .**

**I may eventually post on here a little bit of a teaser of the sequel, but until then... Thanks so much for all the reads, and the reviews, and of course just giving my work a chance.**

**Lots of Love, Ziriuel.  
**


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